by Alain Burrese

Imagine it's 4:30 a.m. and you are tucked under your warm blankets sound asleep. Ever so silently, the door of your abode slowly opens, and in creeps a thief to set about his criminal undertaking.

This isn't too difficult to imagine when it happened to me just a few days ago. I currently live in a yokwan, or inn, in Kangnung and teach at a hogwan, or private academy, in the same city. Fortunately, I am a light sleeper, and even though the would-be thief was being his quietest, I immediately awoke as the door opened. I realized his intent as he was sneaking in and jumped up with a short "Who's that?" My friend, who is visiting at the moment, woke also and the two of us chased the intruder out of the building.

The purpose of this article is to point out some of the things I embarrassingly did wrong, so that you can take precautions to better ensure the safety of you and your belongings. I say embarrassingly, because I, out of many people, should know better. I say this because I am the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks:   How to Avoid a Fight and Things to Do When You Can't or Don't Want To. In this book, I wrote about being aware and taking measures to ensure one's safety by avoiding violent encounters. Sure, the situation didn't turn violent, but it could have.

First of all, the entire situation could have been avoided by simply making sure the door was locked before going to bed. It is not a bad idea to lock the door even when you are inside awake, but surely lock it before sleeping and when leaving your residence.. It's unfortunate that we live in a world that makes this necessary, but it's better to be on the safe side than to have an unwelcome intruder walk in unexpected. This goes for your house, apartment or hotel room, wherever you happen to be staying. Why was my door unlocked? I'll quote my own book, "Often it is in places where we are most comfortable that we disregard the need to be aware." I've been living in the same room for over seven months now and many times I'm the only one on the second floor. It's usually pretty empty and quiet. Comfortableness breeds carelessness. Learn from my mistake.

Next, let's look at my pursuit of the intruder. This is not the best course of action to take when confronting a criminal. If they flee, you are best off to let them go. Take note of everything you can to inform the authorities, but don't risk bodily harm to yourself by chasing after them. Now, there are some people reading this that are thinking, "Someone tries to rip me off and I'm going to catch the so-and-so and stomp him good before turning him over to the police." I know some people think this, because that's what I was thinking the other morning. That's dangerous thinking. First, a little about myself; I'm a former infantry paratrooper and sniper instructor. I'm a certified fitness trainer and in pretty good shape. I've studied a variety of martial arts including Hapkido which I've been training in two times a day since I've been in Korea. I'm not writing this to brag, but to illustrate that I have much more training than the average person, and I'm still saying it wasn't very smart to chase the fleeing bandit. I would have probably been the victor in a physical encounter had I caught him, but one must remember the old Korean saying, "Even monkeys fall from trees." If you are not in harms way, don't put yourself there!

This is the same if you are accosted by a mugger on the street. If all they want is material possessions, simply give the person what they ask for, and let them leave. Sure, there are measures you can take to reduce the chance of being mugged, and things to lookout for so that you can avoid the encounter. But once the criminal has the drop on you, don't risk being injured over the contents of your wallet or purse. Naturally, if the criminal has other intentions, alternate measures may be called for. But that is beyond the scope of this column.

It saddens me that an article such as this needs to be written, but the simple truth is that there are people in this word that prey on others, and crime is a reality that we live with. Let me assure you that I wrote this with the sincere wish that every individual that reads this column becomes a little more aware, and remembers to look after their and their loved one's safety. For I still remember the face of a little four year old Korean girl that I used to flirt with in Kwang-am Dong, who had her throat cut along with her father during a burglary. The two were murdered for cash. These aren't the only victims of violent crime I'm personally familiar with, but two of the most memorable. You see, it can and does happen everywhere.

So don't be paranoid, but please, lock your doors, be aware, don't take risks you don't have to, and enjoy the wonders of this country and the rest of the world safely.

This was originally in the December 20, 1996 issue of The Korea Herald. Another version of this article was featured in the August/September 1997 issue of Sharing Ideas, an International Newsmagazine for Speakers, Meeting Planners, Bureaus, Agents and Consultants.

For more about safty, awareness, self-defense - Go here: Hard-Won Wisdom