Killers May Be Targeting Women On Korean Mountains

I don’t think there is any more danger for women on Korean mountains than there would be in the city.  That is why I don’t think these recent murders should cause people to avoid hiking in Korea:

When a 55-year-old female hiker was found dead this week on a mountain in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, police officers didn’t want to think she was murdered.

Just 10 days before and 7 kilometers (4 miles) away on a different mountain, a 60-year-old woman was stabbed to death by a man recently released from prison. Murders are hardly common at spots where people hike, a favorite Korean pastime.

But on Thursday, police acknowledged that the 55-year-old appears to have been choked to death. Autopsy results found bruises “all over her body.”

A sexual assault is also possible.

Police are now wondering whether lone female hikers have become new targets for brutal killings.

“When a murder case unfolds on a mountain, very rarely can you find a witness,” said Lee Yoon-ho, a police administration professor at Dongguk University in Jung District, central Seoul.

The police have no suspects in the alleged murder case on Mount Sapae (1,808 feet), where the 55-year-old was choked, which is one of the most popular hiking destinations in Gyeonggi.

A lot of women say they are less keen to go hiking alone.

On a recent visit to the scene of the crime on Mount Surak (2,100 feet), where the 60-year-old was stabbed, very few people were spotted. Even male hikers admitted they were feeling slightly anxious.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but the article calls for CCTV camera to be set up along popular hiking trails to protect hikers.  It seems a bit overboard to me to put up CCTV cameras all over the country to protect against crimes.  If people are so concerned for their safety than carry some pepper spray for personal protection.