Walking around downtown today, picking up gifts for my upcoming visit to my family, I ran across a few scary shops. One of them had posters of all kinds of hunting rifles all over the front door and, when I glimpsed inside, there were more gun posters up on the wall.
Are hunting rifles legal for Korean citizens?
Well, even if they aren’t, they could go on ahead and pick up a new chainsaw or two. The chainsaw shop (I’m not kidding—there were five or six new chainsaws on display out on the street in front of the shop, and that was all they had on display) was only a few blocks away from the perhaps-it-was-a-gun-shop.
gord,
Korean citizens can use air guns for “protection,” but they are limited in size. They can also buy firearms for hunting only. Korean law stipulates, however, that you must keep the firearm or the “essential operating mechanisms” (i.e. the bolt and firing pin) in your local police station. Hunting used to be limited to certian times of the year, and those times depended on the providence. (I don’t know the current status, as my experience dealing with civilian firearms in Korea was limited to the first couple of years of my eight year tour in Korea.) Once permission, requested in writing, was granted from the police station, you could draw your own firearm out of the police station arms room to use it for hunting or target practice at authorized sporting ranges.
USFK keeps to the spirit and letter of Korean Law by making it quite difficult to bring firearms into the country, and if you succeed in doing so, they are maintained (the whole firearm) in the Company Arms Room, and the owner must ask permission (again in writing) to the Company Commander to draw the weapon out of the arms room.
Charlie,
The KimcheeGI
Whew, thanks for the clarification. I now only feel anxious about chainsaw parties. Whew!