Monday, October 5, 2009

Government wants Koreans to walk on the right.

Seoul has been practicing getting its residents to walk on the right since October 1st, says the Korea Times.
Public transportation hubs, such as subway stations and airports, and public institutions started a campaign for walking on the right, Thursday.

The campaign is a rehearsal for the “walking on the right” drive that will start in July 2010 nationwide, said the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

However, the hasty switch of the walking direction is causing a jumble among pedestrians, including the visually impaired.

Signs in the Seoul subway encourage people by saying that the world walks on the right.



(1, 2)

And an official said as much to the Herald in the spring:
"Our studies found that people are psychologically prone to veer right when they walk around; it's also a globally acknowledged mannerism," said Cho Sung-tae, deputy director of the ministry's public administration division.

The ministry unveiled the reform after undertaking thorough traffic-related studies, including pedestrian habits and the expected improvements in the operational efficiency and safety of the nation's traffic conditions.

"We believe changing the law to encourage people to walk to the right and think to the right will help promote social order and improve public traffic safety," Cho said.

The Joongang Ilbo has more:
Signs encouraging people to walk on the right on escalators and moving walkways in the capital’s subway system will displayed as part of a City Hall campaign starting on Oct. 1.

The project will cost 550 million won ($450,081), according to Jeon Gwang-hyeon, an official at the transportation bureau with the city government.

The rationale is that most people in Seoul are not lefties.

“It’s comfortable to keep to the right on roads because most people are right-handed,” said Shin Yong-mok, a senior official at the same bureau.

“Exits in the airports and pedestrian crossings are built for people walking on the right. When people walk on the right side they go 1.2 to 1.7 times faster.”

The move follows a plan put forward by the central government in April to revise laws related to pedestrian traffic.

But inertia is tough, and old habits die hard, writes the Times:
Some question the effectiveness of the drive.

“Seoul Metro has been campaigning for lining up two-by-two at escalators for a while, but it has not been very successful. I think similar things might happen to this campaign,” said Lee Sun-min, a 25-year-old office worker.

“At subway stations, some people walk on the left as they did before and the others walk on the right according to the campaign. Sometimes, I get stuck in the middle of people coming from both my left and right.”

I had assumed it was sort of an anti-Japanese myth---like "Japan changed the spelling from Corea to Korea to make Japan first in alphabetical order---that said the Japanese forced Koreans to walk on the left, but that law did come into effect during the Japanese Occupation; from the Herald again:
The current regulation dictating that pedestrians stick to their left stems from a law enforced in 1921, which obliged both people and vehicles to move along their left side. This law changed in March 1946 and called for all vehicles to travel along the right side.

Another reform in December 1961 reinforced the requirement that everyone should walk to their left, whether on the streets or public areas.

Perhaps next they will legislate against walking with your head turned the other way, changing direction without notice, or using the bottom of an escalator to stop and fucking chat. These public awareness campaigns are a good move---I'm not being facetious---but perhaps what is really necessary is for Seoul to sign Scott Stevens next year to patrol the neutral zone grocery store and level people coming across the rink aisle at Kim's Club with their head down.

These changes are planned for Gwangju's subway and airport as well, though I have yet to see arrows on stairwells or sidewalks or anything. Escalators going up in stores are still on the left side.

23 comments:

DSW said...

Having taken the subway in numerous countries around the world, I will say that Korea's are among the best...

However, this left/right thing is just plain dumb. I think they could significantly improve things by trying to alter social norms to say that crashing into strangers and spitting at their feet isn't cool. That's what makes a filthy ride on another country's confusing system better than Korea's.

In other words, it doesn't matter whether you walk on the left or the right - just don't walk INTO other people.

kushibo said...

Forcing people to walk on the right is the most egregious anti-Japanese move yet.

1994 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aaron said...

Ive wanted to write a post on this for a while, so I'm glad you did. I do a lot of walking along the Taewha River, where I live in Ulsan, and I think people would be surprised at the confusion this situation creates. Half the people in Ulsan walk on the right, half on the left. People are always winding around and bumping into each other, bikes going every which way. It's not a dire situation by any means, but I can see why the govt. might feel the need to step in and make a clear cut decision. People drive on the right in Korea, so it makes sense that they ought to walk on the right.
Now, one of the interesting aspects of this...and this is just my own theory...but I would be willing to bet that more Koreans living in Ulsan walk on the left than in other areas of the country. Why? Because this city is closer in proximity to Japan and the Taewha River itself was a major thoroughfare for shipping goods to the rest of Korea. It's hard to find traces of it, but I'd be willing to bet that Ulsan was more "Japanese" than just about any other place in Korea. People walking on the left side of the road is just one of the holdovers.

Ryan.G said...

Maybe I wasn't crazy after all. About a week ago, I started to notice blue and yellow arrows on the ground along the steps leading to the subway stations in Seoul. Were these always there? Or are they apart of the new campaign?

1994 said...

I will say this again: you cant get these people to do a damn thing by asking them; they are too passive-agressive as a whole to allow anyone to make them do anything. This stand on the right and walk up on the left for escalator campaign was ongoing for about 10 years. But still these "people" stand 2 across on the escalators. They will never learn.

kushibo said...

Ryan, many places have had arrows before, but if they've switched places in order to scrap the 좌측통행 for the 우측통행, they might look new.

Aaron, the Japanese influence is long and far-reaching. It lasted for decades into "liberation," with the first subway line in Seoul built "Japanese-style" in terms of direction. (Seoul Station is my closest station and I still have to remember that this is the "backward" line).

Darth Babaganoosh said...

it doesn't matter whether you walk on the left or the right - just don't walk INTO other people.

Tell that to the people in Jongro on a Saturday afternoon.

old o said...

Ryan, the signs are new. There were signs signaling to go to the left before, but now there's little blue ones on the steps that say go to the right. Everyone still goes up the left side of a set of stairs, so it's easier for me to run up the right side in a couple of seconds instead of waiting for the herd.

1994, there's a new campaign to stand 2 across the escalators. You haven't seen the posters with the old man holding hands with the little girl?

kushibo said...

1994, there's a new campaign to stand 2 across the escalators. You haven't seen the posters with the old man holding hands with the little girl?

The "一九九四막자" campaign? ;)

Brian said...

1994, I read an article for this post that said the standing on escalator things is new, though I don't know his/her original source:
***
They changed the ‘rule’ for escalators just this year. Until then you were supposed to stand on the Right side going up or down in order for FAST MOVERS to walk quickly up or down. However, there were several cases where someone stumbled and crashed because they tripped SO, NOW they ‘rule’ is that people should NOT WALK but just STAND on BOTH SIDES. Problem is that there are some who WANT to hurry and they are cursing or AiiGooing people who are blocking their way on the left. Everyday I see problems as RULES CHANGE but not the HABITS of people.
***
http://www.koreanwarbaby.com/2009/09/watch-your-step-seoul-wants-you-walking.html


For me, it has a lot to do with spatial awareness, and you'll see the same chaos associated with driving and, from what I've heard, skiing. Seems like less concern for what's happening around you, and this is something I deal with every day just simply walking to school, as people will just about-face into me, or will turn their heads 70 degrees to look at something but keep walking straight, or will walk towards me on an empty sidewalk and will come within inches of hitting me, or will just back up and turn without looking . . . you get it.

I suppose there's some order to the chaos, and I wonder how much demand there'd be for this if Korea weren't all hell-bent on "globalizing." (Notice Korea walking with the world on the Seoul posters.) I'd be curious to read about Koreans' walkiing habits prior to the Japanese, and I can swear I read something in an old journal (perhaps from Hamel, or someone from the 19th century) describing the chaos of the roads, but I couldn't find it quickly this evening.

kushibo, I wasn't suggesting this was an anti-Japanese move. But I did think that people saying "ooooh, we're so confused because the Japanese mixed us all up!" was another one of those Korean urban legends intended to blame Japan for stuff (like the Korea/Corea post of yours I linked to.)

Stephen Beckett said...

If you want to see what life is like without spatial awareness, just go into any E-Mart on a Sunday.

bza said...

"changing direction without notice"

this is the single thing that annoys me the most about Korea. why not veer off to the right, then turn around?

why must directions be changed randomly and i have to constantly be on alert to avoid a collision course?

Will said...

. . . i think even worse than the sudden change of direction is the sudden full stop. oftentimes it's someone checking a phone or texting, sometimes they seem to be considering where exactly it is they're going.

the general narrowness of supermarket aisles and sidewalks doesn't help a habitual speedwalker like me, either.

and i've noticed some people take the new signs into consideration, only to switch back to the left when a mass of people comes the original direction.

that kind of limited "spatial awareness" is easily the most infuriating aspect of living in seoul for me (and puzzling, taking in account the things i've seen being attempted by motorists in tight alleyways), but it's pretty insightful to realize how hyperconscious i am of my surroundings.

Ryan.G said...

I reread this post again, and I think this comment:
"it's also a globally acknowledged mannerism," said Cho Sung-tae"

Is quite incorrect. It's only natural in countries where the cars drive on the right. In Australia, it's natural to walk on the left, as that's the side the traffic drives on. Silly man.

Douglas said...

At Wangshimni Stn on the #2 Line here in Seoul, they placed the arrows about a week ago. However, they didn't bother to switch the escalators which are still forcing people to move to the left. So if you do follow the arrows you are forced to cut across traffic to get on the escalator and then cut through again once you get off. Perhaps someone hasn't quite thought this one through?

Admin said...

They're not legislating anything. They're encouraging people to walk to the right, not forcing them. Attempting to make this a law would be ridiculous and totalitarian. I have no problem with the current policy as long as people follow this and actually stick to oneside and not smash into others. The problem is that its gonna take a loooong time before any significant changes occur.

Unknown said...

In Japan, in the Kansai region (closest to Korea) people walk on the left, but in Tokyo the walk on the right. So this won't have any effect on making Korea either more or less like Japan.

1994 said...

I dont let them walk into me. There is a Muay Thai move which translates into "answer the phone." It is a block movement where you left your hand to your ear and your elbow is parallel to the ground. If they want to walk into me, they can walk into my elbow, no problem. Last month in Bangkok, I was impressed how Thais always and everytime wait for everyone to get off the subway or elevated train. They line up (on the marks) at the far ends of the doors. Everyone gets off, everyone gets on. It is efficient. Instead, in Korea, the doors open and some asshole...I mean ajosshi...is standing in the center of the doors so everone has to go around him as he tries to go straight in. I saw a guy on the bus a few days ago. A man was getting up from the window side of a seat. As he was trying to get up, an ajoshhi was trying to sit in the seat. He didnt quite get it that the guy needed to get into the asle before he could sit down.

Ryan.G said...

1994: About exiting and entering subways, I see the same thing.

Though, when I exit a subway, if there is someone in front of me trying to push inside before I exit, I simply push back with my body first. I know it's kind of rude, but it's an even ruder thing they do to not let everyone get off first. It helps that I am taller and bigger than most Koreans...

Chris in South Korea said...

Seconding the concept of telling people to do something is a silly waste of time and money. In places where arrows are everywhere (e.g. Seoul Station) people seem to follow it relatively well - but that has more to do with traffic flows. In places where there is no traffic flow, people just walk... wherever the heck they want.

I'm with 1994 on this one - a bit of defensive posturing to help 'enforce' the rules sidesteps most any trip around the left/right debate. My variation is simply using one forearm to push people from the shoulder or chest. It works because people don't expect it. One ajosshi made the mistake of trying to be the first on the subway while a stream of people were coming off - he got rocked back about 2 meters by one forearm... Sorry dude, it's nothing personal - follow the freakin' rules established by YOUR government in YOUR language and then we'll talk.

Stephen Beckett said...

When I'm greeted by a crowd of over-eager ajummas or ajeossis all trying to get onto the subway whilst I'm trying to get off, I like to do a sort of crowd-surf onto them, so that they have to support my weight as I come forward. They soon get the idea that my force of forward propulsion is going to ace their utter disregard for the basic laws of physics and draw inevitable aside.

Don Gordon Bell said...

Excellent comments! Everyone has some great advice and observations. The KWB has lived in Korea, his mother's homeland for 14 years. Adopted to USA, he is 100% American and perhaps 20% Korean. "Laws" on escalators have changed 3 times concerning movement 'on the left-side to walk up or down'.

Posters appeared earlier this year to encourage NOT moving on left side. Wife of KWB is police Lt. stated that several reports of injuries occur everyday. Therefore, back to plan A.

Already signs are being pulled down, unsticking, being totally ignored, etc. People go to the RIGHT only because SOME elevators have been switched. NO explanation for why ALL Elevators have not been changed at the same time! It is easily done, but mass confusion as even in one station you will see every possible combination.

The KWB has seen numerous cases of people actually trying to walk into the WRONG escalator, shouting to warn them or even pull them back...other Koreans coming up will NOT say anything, they just don't get involved. TIK, THIS IS KOREA, as all of us know.

Most Korean people don't even know about the changes. Last week all his students received handouts explaining WHY it is safer, and as soon as translation is finished will post on it. Perhaps the government is trying to update their international image AGAIN, watch for new SLOGANS, like "Korea Walks Right".