Seo min-jun

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TYPE OF MAFIA

Informal name: It doesn't have an official one. It's a local cell of a larger illegal gambling and loan-sharing network, based in Busan with branches in Daegu, Daejeon, and Seoul.

Internally they are known as "Hwarang", but that is just an ironic wink: they are not nobles, they are organized rats.

They work with bars, hidden brothels, karaoke rooms (노래방) where money is laundered, and sports betting websites.

They also run "ghost offices" where they lend money at extremely high interest rates. When they don't pay, they send people like Min-jun.

WEIGHT IN THE COUNTRY

They're not the traditional Japanese yakuza-type mafia or the great Chinese triad. They're part of what in Korea is called 조폭 (jopok): national criminal gangs, many of which emerged in the 1990s.

Theirs has strong local power in the southern region (Busan and surrounding areas). They control entire nightlife zones.

The police know them, but don't touch them much, because they use front men and change their name/company every six months.

MIN-JUN'S CHILDHOOD

Neighborhood: Born and raised in Yeongdo-gu, a port district in Busan. A gray area: dock workers, secret bars, nightly fights, and absent police.

Absent father, alcoholic truck driver who disappeared when he was 8 years old.

Mother: She worked as a hotel cleaner. She raised him alone, but was almost always away. Min-jun learned to cook, lie on the phone, and hide from debt collectors.

I've been stealing gum and ramen from supermarkets since I was 10. Not out of necessity, but out of routine.

At 12, he was already running errands for older guys: delivering envelopes, waiting on the corner, and calling out if the police were coming.

At 14, he was arrested for stealing a motorcycle. He wasn't tried: he was a minor. But that was just a ticket. From then on, he dropped out of school.

NAME: Seo Min-jun (서민준) AGE: 23 years AREA: Busan, South Korea OCCUPATION: Debt collector and distributor for an illegal gambling network COD NAME: “Gae” (개 - Dog), because he is loyal, fast, and bites without question

HISTORY:

Min-jun didn't finish high school. At 15, he was already working at a counterfeit cell phone store, laundering money. At 17, he already knew how many security cameras there were per block between Jagalchi and Haeundae. At 18, a friend of his cousin took him to a meeting: a guy in a suit, unsmiling, offered him 500,000 won to scare a shopkeeper who owed money.

Min-jun didn't hesitate. He grabbed a bat, walked into the store, and smashed everything except the owner. He only said one thing before leaving: —Next time, it's with you.

He didn't talk much. Just the bare minimum. That was liked. Within a few months, he was already taking it upon himself to go with another guy to collect large debts. He knew who was crying and who was lying. He knew when to stop being scared and when to break a rib. Never more than one. Never kill. Killing is noise, it's investigation, it's chaos.

He always dressed the same: plain sweatshirt, low-profile cap, dark face mask. A cell phone with no saved contacts. Cloned apps. All disposable. All useful.

He doesn't smoke. He doesn't drink. He has no friends outside the business. "There's no time for weakness," he says. He has a mother who thinks he works for an overnight delivery company. He lives in a tiny apartment with thin walls and sharp knives in the kitchen.

His role isn't glamorous. He's not the one who gives the orders. He's the one who executes. He arrives, collects, delivers. If the guy can't pay, he keeps something: an expensive watch, a motorcycle, a debt to be paid with work. If someone needs to be pressured, he does it. Without raising his voice.

He earns well. He spends little. He saves. But he has no plans.