Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mithrae]

Anyone else amazed at how Koreans prefer anarchy to order. A month or so ago the gov't decided that people were to keep to the right when ascending and descending the stairs/escalators in Seoul. Noone is even attempting to follow the rule, even though there's arrows and notices indicating that people are to go to the right. It's still pure anarchy. Worse yet, some subway stations have changed their escalators to the new rule, while others have not. Again, I suppose noone should be surprised by an absense of consistency in anything Korea does. And I suppose it's too much to ask for order when going up and down stairs from a people who walk (and drive) like pure anarchists. Why follow rules, or show consideration for others in that one area of their daily lives? Doesn't fit the pattern. A cultural change is needed that encompasses walking, driving, etc.

Reminds me of the program, a year or two ago, aimed at getting people to stand on the right on escalators so people could pass on the left. That lasted about three days.

It's amazing that a Confucian society, in some ways so ordered and structured, can also be so amazingly lawless.

[Olivencia]

Made me laugh. Saw it happen very often in the Philippines. One day it was absolutely insane whereas no one could move either going up or down the stairs so I simply yelled out in a commanding kind of voice, "OK people keep to the right" motioning authoritatively with my arms. To my surprise everyone seemed to fall in line and the bottleneck disappeared. My Filipina wife and I laughed and I told her "I can't believe they listened".
How do you say "Keep to the right" in Korean?

[oskinny1]

[cdninkorea]

I wonder if it will happen and just needs time... or a step-up in the campaign...

[GoldMember]

Following instructions is not a strong Korean trait.
At intersections say behind the white line! can't do
Stop at the right light, can't do
Pedestrians waiting to cross the street, stand on the pavement not the road, can't do.

This is why there is no IKEA in Korea, people would have to follow the assembly instructions. Can't do

[Steelrails]

I think the reason it is sometimes like that is that you'll have 500 people going one way and like 3 going the other, so ignoring the rule makes sense.

Unfortunately, when those times happen where its 500 both ways then the anarchy ensues and boy, is it ANARCHY.

[taobenli]

Am I the only one who thinks this campaign is silly? I mean, I agree that it's sometimes anarchy in subway stations, because there are so many people. But come on, Korea isn't an authoritarian society anymore, and the heavy-handedness of these campaigns probably reminds people of those days. Can you imagine if such a campaign was started in your own country? I'm sure people would scoff at it. To be fair, whenever I am following signs and walking on the right people generally get out of my way. But I kind of want to applaud when I exit Gangnam station during rush hour, and EVERYONE is walking up the stairs on the left! There is no sense of anarchy in that sense, it's just as if people looked at the signs, thought, "screw you, patronizing Ministry of Transportation" and all chose to do the exact opposite of the sign.

Actually, the only place I can think of such a campaign working almost immediately is Japan. Or North Korea.

[djsmnc]

[nautilus]

[blackjack]