The number of teenagers arrested for drug-related crimes in the country has surged from just 30 in 2005 to 1,477 in 2023
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenThe Korea TimesPublished: 1:17pm, 10 Apr 2026Buying illegal drugs has become as easy as ordering a pizza in South Korea – especially for teens and young adults who have grown up in the digital age – as drug trafficking has increasingly moved online.On platforms like Telegram and the dark web, users familiar with drug-related slang can easily locate dealers. Consumers simply place an order, pay with bitcoin, and, once the transaction is complete, receive a message with instructions on where to collect their purchase.
As the transaction takes place in cyberspace, face-to-face encounters between dealers, buyers and intermediaries are virtually nonexistent. This system, combined with a delivery method known among law enforcement as “dropping”, has made it significantly harder for investigators to dismantle drug trafficking networks.
“In the past, teens and young adults with no prior history of drug use found it difficult to access dealers, as drugs were typically circulated within existing networks,” said Kim Su-jin, a former drug investigator at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office. “But ‘dropping’ has completely changed the landscape.”
