The older boys who left the orphanage dyed their hair yellow and led a cool life. Jang Hyeon-wu (26), who left the orphanage in the late summer of 2014 at the age of nineteen, thought that he too would be able to live like that. He had no idea then that he would be trying to sleep crouched in a men’s bathroom on the first floor of a commercial building in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul a month later.

That was how three years of life on the streets began. There was nothing he could do, so he just walked all day. When the sun rose, the streets were bright, and the people sneaked glances at the dirty Jang. Ashamed, he wandered through empty alleys. He walked all day and when night fell, once again he went in search for a place to sleep.

■ Why Me? No Place to Return To

The state did not look for Jang, who was driven out onto the streets. “In order to support the preparation for the termination of protection of children subject to protection by foster homes and their self-reliance after being discharged from child welfare facilities, the State and local governments shall take the following measures: (1) Support for the residence, living, education, finding employment, etc. required for self-reliance” (Article 38, Child Welfare Act). The facility Jang had left ignored him. He visited many welfare facilities and agencies, but he received no assistance other than some lunch money. He begged and pleaded with the social welfare civil servants at the community service center, paid a 500,000 won fine, and ended up in the homeless shelter at Seoul Station with the feeling that the world had abandoned him.

The loss of a home drives people who have nowhere to go to a life on the streets. If you lose your house, you immediately become a drifter.

■ My Life in One Carry-on Luggage

Things weren’t so bad when Jeong Chang-ju (23) left the group home in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do at the age of nineteen. He managed to rent a studio in a multiplex by depositing the five million won given to young people when it’s time for them to leave child protection facilities to prepare for life on their own. The head of the group home helped him sign the lease. He paid the monthly rent with the independence allowance he received, and he got a part-time job at a sushi buffet restaurant.

In 2018, he entered the dormitory of a factory that manufactured display panels for cell phones in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do. The dorm had two rooms, a living room and a kitchen and was big enough to accommodate four people, but Jeong’s boss particularly harassed Jeong, who was a high school drop-out. Jeong quit working at the factory after three months and went to Incheon to live with an older guy he knew from the orphanage along with one other person in a studio.

If housing is unstable, it triggers a chain reaction shaking other areas of life, such as jobs, human relationships, and mental well-being. Lee Sang-jung, the director of policy research for children at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted a study on this issue and in the report argued, “The experience of housing vulnerability not only leads to mental and psychological problems, but it can also lead to secondary crises, such as falling victim to crimes. It can also be the result of these problems, so the issue requires concentrated support and management.” She also argued, “We need to strengthen the housing safety net so that young adults can receive support on a variety of issues at any time, such as selecting housing and signing leases, until at least five years after they leave child protection facilities.”

■ Will It End if I Meet a “Special Person”?

A teacher at a welfare center, a church elder, an acquaintance who happened to know the Solidarity for Orphan Rights and Interests. One is lucky if he happens to meet a special person and begin a new life. But if we flip this luck upside down, we see a tragedy, in which one can only find luck when he happens to come across a special person.

Yi Hwi-ju (25), who has been helping the program to support the independence of young adults leaving child protection run by Child Fund Korea after she herself left child protection, said, “Even among us, we think that the children who have exchanges with the Child Fund and can receive information are fortunate.” What facility a child ends up in can also determine her future, because even if there is government support, it is useless without the capacity and willingness of the staff at facilities to connect such support with the people who need it.