![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/dont-ask-why-south-korea-grapples-with-back-to-back-mudjima-stabbings/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/130713343_c5c7bf96f7d4d3bb64d2c4c2991b9b487560fa21.jpg&description=Image source, EPA Image caption, An officer stands guard at the site of a mass stabbing attack in a shopping centre south of Seoul A knife darting out in a packed subway car. An assailant, chasing shoppers, stabbing wildly in the street. These nightmares have played out in the minds of many South Koreans following a mass stabbing attack last week - the country's second in as many weeks. On 3 August, 14 people were injured in Seongnam, south-east of Seoul, when a man rammed his car into pedestrians near a subway stop, and then ran into a department store, where he stabbed nine people. One woman died later from her injuries. "What's happening in South Korea these days?" cried citizens online afterwards - dazed by back-to-back stabbings in a nation known otherwise for low rates of violent crime. "Our country used to be one of the safest in the world… but recently I can't say that any more," one commented on YouTube. Just days earlier, on 21 July, another man had attacked commuters in the capital, killing one person and stabbing three more at a subway station. He later told police he lived a miserable life and "wanted to make others miserable too". The second attacker may have taken notes from him, evidence later showed. The 22-year-old suspect, Choi Won-jong, was a delivery driver and high-school dropout who had been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder. Police said he had googled for news about the first attack, at Sillim Station. Image caption, Choi Won-jong is facing murder and attempted murder charges for the stabbing rampage in Seongnam, south-east of Seoul In South Korea, they are known as "Don't Ask Why" or Mudjima crimes - inexplicable acts of violence targeting strangers, driven by no personal link to victims or obvious motive. While they've been called Mudjima by the public for years, it was only in 2022 that South Korean police officially designated such crimes as a distinct category: "Abnormal Motive Crimes". With specific definitions and a task for){kind=link}
A knife darting out in a packed subway car. An assailant, chasing shoppers, stabbing wildly in the street.
These nightmares have played out in the minds of many South Koreans following a mass stabbing attack last week – the country’s second in as many weeks.
On 3 August, 14 people were injured in Seongnam, south-east of Seoul, when a man rammed his car into pedestrians near a subway stop, and then ran into a department store, where he stabbed nine people. One woman died later from her injuries.
“What’s happening in South Korea these days?” cried citizens online afterwards – dazed by back-to-back stabbings in a nation known otherwise for low rates of violent crime.
“Our country used to be one of the safest in the world… but recently I can’t say that any more,” one commented on YouTube.