A Period of Storm and Stress

The Republic of Korea is experiencing a stressful period owing to the failure of designated authorities to save hundreds of passengers of the Sewol, a ferry that recently sank: most of the victims were high school students. President Park has announced an official apology to the public and carried out sweeping reforms to improve the country’s safety standards and establish a new national emergency system to prevent further disasters from happening. Adolescents spend a significant amount of time hanging around their schools and are influenced more around school environments. Because of their immature nature, adolescents are likely to be tempted by risky health behaviors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, or drug use. They tend to act impulsively owing to peer pressure [1]. Despite mandatory controls, adolescent smoking and alcohol drinking continue to rise in Korea. The 9th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2013) has shown that lifetime smokers usually start smoking while they are still in their first grade in middle school (21.5%). Overall, 43.9% of the smokers drink alcohol, and the average age of alcohol drinking initiation is 14.4 years, lower than 15.1 years in 1998 [2]. Adolescent alcohol drinking is not only an issue of problem alcohol drinking or alcoholism, but it may also create conflicts between these teenagers and their parents, friends, and teachers, thereby increasing the chance of unexpected violence or sexual behavior [3,4]. Children from singleparent or parentless families show relatively higher delinquency rates, and adolescents from single-parent families are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors such as smoking, alcohol drinking, and drug taking [5,6]. The Republic of Korea has introduced and implemented a system of "school environment cleanup zone" under the School Health Act, to foster more efficient student guidance, better scholastic achievement, and a more amicable emotional state among students. Despite