Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

I've always assumed this button was one of those buttons that tells the light system a pedestrian is waiting to cross and maybe speed up the process. Of course I'm skeptical those buttons back in North America do anything more than just change the don't walk sign to walk. Anyway, I've always pressed it although I never saw any Koreans press it (no surprise as Koreans are lucky to notice anything beyond their nose). It chirps out something or another in Korean.

I also noticed they were removing them and they're increasingly rare these days. I finally had the presence of mind to photograph one and send it to a Korean friend. She reported back the buttons are for blind people. You press it and then it tells you when it's safe to cross. (Safe! Ha!) Now, I finally understand why they're removing them. They expected blind people to be actually able to find the buttons (and read the text?).

Ah, sweet Korea.

[heydelores]

I've had a sneaking suspicion that's what those things do! I've pressed them a couple times and got strange looks from the people around me. Sure enough, they make noise when the light turns green.

[SeoulFinn]

I must confess that I've pressed buttons like that couple of times as well. I thought that they are for people who aren not completely blind. Perhaps the people with really bad eyesight can easily find this box, but just can't see to the other side of the street? (Ok, there's also this sound, so my theory is very likely wrong.)

Or could it be that these things are for the colorblind people like me? Naturally it is not that difficult to remember which is red (unavoidable and certain death) and which is green (almost certain death). But as far as I know, there are not that many colorblind people in Korea.

But how do the deaf and blind people cross the streets? And what are they doing on the streets on the first place???

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[mindmetoo]

[mithridates]

They've all been powered both by button and remote control since October 2004.

[Troll_Bait]

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[mithridates]

It's because those ones are being added onto the lights themselves, the ones that look like this with the time remaining:



There seem to be a few problems in how this is being carried out but after trying to tell in the article which office in which district is supposed to be responsible for what regarding these things I get bored.

[Junior]

So long as traffic continues to flow over the zebra crossing for 2 minutes after the lights gone green, the sighted stand as much chance of the blind when it comes to making it to the other side.

[jacl]

I'm blind.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[jacl]