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freethought
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
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 Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:18 pm Post subject: Why can't Koreans do something that seems so simple??? |
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/117_52890.html
I know if people respond there will be jokes etc, and that's fine. But for real (PhD) research purposes I am trying to account for certain problems in Korea. Why is what side to walk on so difficult? It's walking on the same side they drive on.
So any thoughts on why
A) they can't make this shift work
or
B) they don't seem to watch where they're going to begin with
Input and insight greatly appreciated. |
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UknowsI
Joined: 16 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Are we still supposed to walk on the left side of the road? That's what we do at home so we can see the cars coming towards us. I haven't really noticed any rules for it here so it would be nice to know. |
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halfmanhalfbiscuit
Joined: 13 Oct 2007
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| That reads like a Yangpa article. |
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Murakano
Joined: 10 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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yep and can they learn how to leave 1 side of the escalator free to allow people to pass by while they`re at it rather stand there and block both sides?
Too much information perhaps!! |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Here's a thought experiment for the OP. Let's pretend you're 46 years old and living in the United States. You got your driver license the day you turned 16. You've been driving every single day since then. Since before you were born until today, the road traffic has been cars driving on the right. Effective at midnight tonight, the road traffic law changes all over the country so that driving is on the left. How will you react if an emergency arises while you're driving tomorrow morning on your way to work? Will your 30 years of training over-ride what you think is a simple shift? |
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freethought
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| CentralCali wrote: |
| Here's a thought experiment for the OP. Let's pretend you're 46 years old and living in the United States. You got your driver license the day you turned 16. You've been driving every single day since then. Since before you were born until today, the road traffic has been cars driving on the right. Effective at midnight tonight, the road traffic law changes all over the country so that driving is on the left. How will you react if an emergency arises while you're driving tomorrow morning on your wayto work? Will your 30 years of training over-ride what you think is a simple shift? |
I can switch back and forth with ease. I'm not old, but I'm not young. And your analogy only works if we were talking about driving...
Walking is a fair ways off driving. It doesn't require special training and most of us can do it before we speak. It really is that simple. When I'm in Japan and new zealand I have no problems switching sides.
When I am walking on the paths in my city there are bike paths. Do you know which side the bikes are on? The right side? Most people are walking on the right side as well.
It really isn't that difficult.
I will admit that for old people it might be more difficult, but the article doesn't mention anything about the elderly. And I would still maintain that given the chaos that exists in places like the seoul subway, market areas, COEX, yongsan etc, no one seems to be walking on the right or the left, but in a completely random way. Which means the issue isn't left or right, it's one of simply order.
A little bit of trouble is one thing, but meriting media coverage and re-thinking the plan, that to me says there is a larger problem. |
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UknowsI
Joined: 16 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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| CentralCali wrote: |
| Here's a thought experiment for the OP. Let's pretend you're 46 years old and living in the United States. You got your driver license the day you turned 16. You've been driving every single day since then. Since before you were born until today, the road traffic has been cars driving on the right. Effective at midnight tonight, the road traffic law changes all over the country so that driving is on the left. How will you react if an emergency arises while you're driving tomorrow morning on your way to work? Will your 30 years of training over-ride what you think is a simple shift? |
They switched the side of the road they drive on in Sweden a few decades ago. I think it went pretty well without many accidents, maybe you can ask some older Swedes what it was like if you meet them. |
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Savant
Joined: 25 May 2007
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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A lot of Koreans struggle to walk in a meaningful straight line.
Asking them to choose only one side to walk/move on is beyond their comprehension. |
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The Gipkik
Joined: 30 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Try riding your bike on the bicycle pathway by the Han river. That will leave you speechless. Children wandering around while fast bikes go racing by, missing them by inches or even mm's at times; older folks riding slowly and veering to the left, veering to the right, and paying no mind to anyone in front of them or behind them; or a nice open space and a pedestrian appears, which is their right I get it, but right next to the pedestrian a lady comes riding by blocking your way. And does she move over to give you space? Hell no, you barely squeeze through between her and the pedestrian. So many close calls. You really gotta be on your toes around here. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Savant wrote: |
A lot of Koreans struggle to walk in a meaningful straight line.
Asking them to choose only one side to walk/move on is beyond their comprehension. |
Koreans are only very recently urbanised. The cities have sprung up virtually overnight. Prior to this they were rural folk and there was no danger to walking wherever and however you pleased.
I also think its cultural in the sense that they are very much a status-driven people. Walking around like nobody else deserves consideration reaffirms that sense of self importance: people you haven't personally been introduced to tend not to count as much as they do with westerners.
Other times, they just genuinely appear to be totally unaware of whats around them, they show far less peripheral and spatial awareness. Maybe their eyes are generally facing more forward than westerners, being set in overall flatter faces...who knows. |
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bluelake
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:23 am Post subject: |
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| UknowsI wrote: |
| They switched the side of the road they drive on in Sweden a few decades ago. I think it went pretty well without many accidents, maybe you can ask some older Swedes what it was like if you meet them. |
When I visited Finland back in '80 (I had a Finnish girlfriend back then, so I stayed with her and her family for a few weeks), we drove up and over into Sweden. I remember signs posted at intervals to remind people to drive on the right hand side. |
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Joe666
Joined: 19 Nov 2008
Location: Jesus it's hot down here!
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Julius wrote:
| Quote: |
I also think its cultural in the sense that they are very much a status-driven people. Walking around like nobody else deserves consideration reaffirms that sense of self importance: people you haven't personally been introduced to tend not to count as much as they do with westerners.
Other times, they just genuinely appear to be totally unaware of whats around them, they show far less peripheral and spatial awareness. Maybe their eyes are generally facing more forward than westerners, being set in overall flatter faces...who knows. |
Add these two statements together and you have a society which I believe is much safer than the west. They seem not to care what's going on around them. Their not worried about violence against them, adding to the idea of the non-person. Westerners are more aware of everyone around them, thus the greater consideration.
My new handler was in California for the last six months studing English etc. She was in an affluent "white" area of the state and all the Koreans who participated had armed guard protection where they stayed 
I am almost positive this was because they were Korean. What do you think would happen if a native Korean who had never left this country, traveled to a major U.S. city and ended up in a bad area? |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:47 am Post subject: Re: Why can't Koreans do something that seems so simple??? |
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| freethought wrote: |
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/117_52890.html
I know if people respond there will be jokes etc, and that's fine. But for real (PhD) research purposes I am trying to account for certain problems in Korea. Why is what side to walk on so difficult? It's walking on the same side they drive on.
So any thoughts on why
A) they can't make this shift work
or
B) they don't seem to watch where they're going to begin with
Input and insight greatly appreciated. |
I'm coming out of the subway station, and when I reach the top of the steps, I will make a left. So, I walk up the stairs on the left side.
If I were to make a right when I come out of the subway exit, I will walk on the right side.
Got a problem with that? |
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freethought
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:33 am Post subject: |
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I've always found it fascinating how people seem to take everything personally and interpret things as an attack.
Do I have a problem with that? No. |
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Boodleheimer
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man
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| Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:40 am Post subject: |
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| why change this in the first place? |
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