Weeding Out

South Korean national identity isn't the easiest thing for a foreigner to understand.  To wit, with Canada legalizing marijuana South Korea has announced that Korean nationals who smoke weed abroad will be prosecuted to the fullest extent:

"Weed smokers will be punished according to the Korean law, even if they did so in countries where smoking marijuana is legal. There won’t be an exception,' said Yoon Se-jin, head of the narcotics crime investigation division at Gyeonggi Nambu provincial police agency, according to the Korea Times.

South Korean law is based on the concept that laws made in Seoul still apply to citizens anywhere in the world, and violations, even while abroad, can technically lead to punishment when they return home. Those who smoke weed could face up to five years in prison.

South Korea strictly enforces drugs laws even for small amounts, and celebrities caught smoking weed are often paraded in front of media for apology tours. Officials work to project an image of a “drug-free nation” and only about 12,000 drug arrests were made in 2015 in a country of more than 50 million people."

As the article states, it's hard to see how this can be enforced.  But the declaration of a virtuous ethnic identity that reaches across all borders is more likely the practical intention.