Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bloopity Bloop]

[tiger fancini]

[sqrlnutz123]

I give my seat up to really old people. I'm confused about the cut-off though. If they look 50 or so and perfectly able to stand, I probably won't. I have found that in Korea, people give up their seat less than they did where I'm from in the US.

[Tundra_Creature]

If someone looks like they really need to sit down (whether they're old or young) I'll offer up a seat, unless I'm truly exausted myself. ^^;;

[Steelrails]

I always give up my seat on the bus or subway not just to the elderly but to any woman, especially those with children. That's the proper thing to do.

But I agree that this is something I want to do voluntarily. I don't want some guy coming over and demanding my seat. Also the guy should definitely make sure there aren't some slacker young kids around to make them give up their seats.

Some of the more territorial responses on this thread are just weird. This isn't prison, you won't become a mark just because you give up a seat on a subway.

The acquisition of doing an act of kindness exceeds the expense of standing for 15 minutes.

Plus acts like giving up your seat have a way of coming back to you.

[pichon]

[sharkey]

I ride a bus and subway multiple times everyday and I rarely see people give up their seats for older people.

[balzor]

A lot of the times, but not everytime. When I see younger Koreans sitting, I expect them to give up their seat first. I have seen teenagers sit in the elderly sections on the train even when there were no other seats. On the bus, I usually will give up my seat.

[Greekfreak]

I always get up for:

The elderly, pregnant women (who invariably have another youngster strapped to their backs already), or 50-something ladies loaded down with way too much crap for a bus.

But the faking sleep is despicable behaviour. I once yanked a middle schooler out of a reserved seat when I saw that some octogenarian (maybe even older) with a back problem got on the bus and the kid looked over and faked like he was sleeping--the bus was full. I swore a blue streak at him in Greek and he got the picture. He skulked off to the back with his near-empty backpack and stood up for the rest of his voyage.

[Captain Corea]

[curiousaboutkorea]

[Captain Corea]

[eamo]

Gotta agree with Captain Korea here........I've very very rarely seen a frail old person go without a seat in my 10 years of using Seoul public transport.

Maybe once or twice in 10 years.


However, I've often found myself on crowded subway/buses giving the seat to the old person myself because the locals neglected to do so in good time. Old people usually do get a seat in Korea......but I don't think it's because Koreans are the most polite people in the world. It's like a reluctant obligation.

[Sergio Stefanuto]

[curiousaboutkorea]