What if gun ownership is allowed in Korea?

The U.S. is in sorrow after yet another gun massacre. A shooter singled out Christians and killed nine people and injured seven at a university in Oregon on Thursday. Then, he killed himself. U.S. President Barack Obama held a news conference and urged for gun control, saying, “My response here at this podium ends up being routine.” This, however, would end up ringing hollow again because Republican presidential candidates oppose gun control saying it is a matter of a “mental illness.”

Two years ago, President Obama had proposed a bill that strengthens background checks for gun buyers and bans the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 bullets. But the bill did not pass the Congress due to the opposition by the Republican Party. According to CNN, 313 Americans were killed by terrorist attacks for the last decade and as many as 316,545 were killed in shootings. On Thursday alone, as many as 13 shootings were reported across the U.S., including a shooting that killed an infant in the child’s mother in a car.

Thirty five countries including the U.K., Australia, Canada, Switzerland and Finland allow gun ownership. However, few countries have more gun accidents than the U.S. It is top in the world in gun ownership with 89 firearms per every 100 people. As a country founded by immigrants in a colony, it permitted people’s gun ownership for self-defense. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is about freedom of speech and the Second Amendment is about right to bear arms. Meanwhile, gun accidents decreased significantly in the U.K., Australia and Switzerland after they tightened control over guns as a result of gun massacres in the 1990s and early 2000s.

A man in his 20s stole a gun and bullets at an indoor shooting gallery and ran away in Busan last weekend. He said he did so intentionally to rob a postal office. Many people harm others in Korea in a fit of anger. With the highest suicide rate among OECD member countries, Koreans tend to kill themselves after killing their family members or lover today. What if gun ownership is allowed in Korea? It is terrible to even imagine it.