Gwangju Talks

What safety issues you have seen or experienced? What should be done about it?

Park Ha-na (23)

I saw a number of issues about transportation, such as the Sewol ferry disaster and the 100-car pileup near Incheon. I always think something has to change. And still now, there are no differences at all. A lot of people, including me, are thinking that there has to be change but are doing nothing. Right after the big disaster, I thought people would change. I expected more orderly Koreans than before. However, it was just my expectation. People were just talking about how we have to change. I think first, we need to change ourselves. I need to change myself. And then, Korea will be changed.

Lee Jin (26)

I live in Gwangju, but sometimes I go to Seoul to meet my friends. Almost all my visiting is on weekends, when people usually do not go to work or school, but I always feel bad. About three months ago, I went to Seoul on Monday and took subway line two. Many people were already waiting for the subway, and I thought they could not all get on. Worrying about not getting in, I stood up and saw people wearing big gloves. When the subway arrived, people rushed into the train compartment. Like I said, we could not get into the compartment, and some just stood beside the subway in a dither. At that time, the people wearing gloves pushed people to help them get in; later my friend told me that they are “push men.” That is not only an issue in Seoul. I easily see it in Gwangju when I go to work by bus. I think the Gwangju government should double the number of buses in service. The bus corporation always wants to make more profits, so they are trying to run the buses less and make bus fare higher. Gwangju government should keep its eye on that situation for citizens’ sake.

Student (23)

The public transportation in Gwangju is quite comfortable to use, but in my case, there are few buses near my house. So, I always have to walk to farther bus stops, which takes 10 minutes or more. There is only one bus that goes directly to my university. Then, in the morning, that bus is full of students who go school for their first class before I take it. Bus drivers usually skip my bus stop because there is no seat available. I have no choice but to take a taxi or be late for my class. If possible, the bus company should operate more buses during rush hour. Furthermore, the subway line would be better if it were extended from the place where the bus cannot go to universities or downtown.

Kim Minkyung (24)

I saw that a company conducted a campaign for pregnant women on public transportation. The campaign is about offering seats to pregnant women. According to Planned Population Federation of Korea, four out of 10 pregnant women in Korea report that they are not given consideration by people around them. In fact, many women said in an online community that they underwent difficulty as they could not sit in the seats for pregnant women. The seats for pregnant women are combined with the seats for the old and the weak. We need to completely divide the seats for pregnant women and for the elderly in all kinds of public transportation.