Category: Seoul

It makes you wonder if the additional safety risk caused by the platform screen doors is worth the suicide prevention rationale for installing them in the first place?:

An elderly woman died Wednesday after her purse was caught between a subway train and a platform screen door at Seoul Station, and she was dragged until she fell onto the tracks.

According to police, the woman, surnamed Seol, 81, got stuck while exiting the train at 9:04 a.m. She was pulled for about seven meters between the glass and the train and before falling on the tracks.

Witnesses said the accident happened because her purse was caught in the closing subway doors and she tried to pull it out.

The subway doors and the platform screen doors closed at the same time and the woman was caught between them, but the train departed without the engine driver noticing this.

“When the rescue team arrived, she was already dead with a serious head injury,” a police officer said. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Ultimately the authorities were able to catch the crazy man threatening passengers with a knife, but I am not sure what authorities in Seoul can do to prevent crazy people from doing crazy things:

Authorities on Tuesday apprehended a middle-aged man who was alleged to have brandished a 10-inch knife and threatened passengers onboard a subway train in Seoul during morning rush hour.

The suspect, determined later to be a 51-year-old homeless man, was caught more than an hour after the episode, in which he brandished a knife onboard a train on subway line No. 1 around 8:20 a.m., before exiting at Jonggak Station.

No injuries were reported, though the incident highlighted a barrage of loopholes present in subway security systems in the capital, with a population density almost twice that of New York City and where more than 7 million people on average use the trains daily.

Last year, police recorded 3,040 crimes at local subway stations, up 58 percent from the 1,922 cases in 2013.

The most apparent oversight, however, is the lack of security resources and personnel.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

Here is an opportunity for anyone looking for a free English tour of Seoul:

Student volunteer group Seoul Free Walking Tour will run guided walks around the city’s historic center of Jeong-dong and Bukchon, an area east of Gyeongbokgung Palace that is famous for its traditional houses.

The Jeong-dong tour starts at Gyeongbokgung Station and visits sites around Deoksugung Palace, many of which are related to early Western involvement in the country in the late Joseon era.

The Bukchon tour starts at Anguk Station, moves to the Bukchon Cultural Center and then to Gyedonggil for a glimpse of 1970s and ’80s Seoul. Other stops include a craft center and scenic spots in Bukchon Village.

A tour of Seolleung was planned, but development has been put on hiatus, organizers said.

For more information and to sign up for a tour, visit http://seoulfreewalkingtour.wix.com/seoul.  [Korea Herald]

This is a pretty freak fire that has unfortunately taken the life of a Seoul firefighter:

The Seohae Grand Bridge, a major artery connecting southwestern cities and Seoul, was shut down after three of its cables were damaged in a fire Thursday evening.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Friday that it will suspend use of the bridge through Dec. 24 to replace the cables.

Authorities said one firefighter was killed and two others wounded when they were hit by a snapped cable while battling the blaze.

An official of the ministry said lightning was the cause of the fire.

“Despite the inconvenience, our decision was made for the public’s safety,” the official said at a televised press conference.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link.

For ROK Heads living or visiting Seoul you might want to avoid the City Hall area on December 5th as it will likely be the seen of yet more violent protests:

An association that speaks for farmers vowed on Saturday to go ahead with a massive rally planned for next weekend, setting the stage for another clash with police.

The move came after police informed the association composed of farmers earlier in the day that they will ban the group from holding a rally in central Seoul on Dec. 5.

Earlier this week, the association notified police that it planned to hold a rally that could draw some 10,000 participants near City Hall next Saturday.

Police warned that those who organize a rally are subject to punishment if they go ahead with the event despite being banned from holding it. Participants of a rally could also face punishment if they defy police orders to disperse.

Still, the farmers’ association said its members will go ahead with a rally on Dec. 5 as scheduled. It also said it plans to seek a court injunction to overturn the ban imposed by police.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Looks like most English speakers prefer Hi Seoul to I.Seoul.U… https://t.co/K3eZwVsLxk

— Paul Matthews (@ajosshi) November 28, 2015

Itaewon Reborn https://t.co/42vVbZjahd

— koreabridge (@koreabridge) November 15, 2015

The Mayor of Seoul is defending the city’s new slogan I.Seoul.U by claiming that since it make no sense that it could mean anything:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will stick to its new slogan, “I.Seoul.U,” Mayor Park Won-soon said Monday.

“Many slogans of cities around the world receive negative feedback at first,” he said during a luncheon with reporters at City Hall. “After a while, I expect the negative reactions will change.”

“Even if we start all over again and come up with a new slogan, it will face some sort of criticism. That cannot be avoided.”

This is the first time that the mayor expressed his opinion about the slogan.

“I.Seoul.U” was selected as the capital city’s slogan on Oct. 28, after beating two other finalists ― “Seoulmate” and “SEOULing.”

“I had expected the slogan would be received positively, but it wasn’t,” Park said.

“I nonetheless believe that the process of selecting the slogan was meaningful because it allowed citizens to participate.”

Addressing the criticism that the slogan is nonsensical and unclear, Park said he believes it is better to leave the interpretation open to the public rather than try to define the meaning.

For example, he noted, the slogan “Incredible India” is a great one, but because its meaning is unchangeable, it can only be used for a short time.

“On the other hand, ‘I.Seoul.U’ can mean anything,” Park said. [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but the city spent $700,000 on something the mayor admits has no meaning.

It will be interesting to see if this statue does become an iconic symbol for Gangnam:

The signature horse-riding dance move by South Korean rap sensation Psy will be made into a landmark in front of a large shopping complex in southern Seoul, the local district office said Friday.

The sculpture will consist of two fists positioned in the wrist movement of the dance routine from the 2012 music video for the hit “Gangnam Style,” according to the Gangnam District Office. From above, it will look like two hands wrapping around the Earth.

The office plans to place the sculpture near the COEX shopping and exhibition center before the end of the year, aiming to build a landmark symbolic of the area, such as London’s Piccadilly Circus and Chicago’s Cloud Gate.

It will be designed by Hwang Man-seok, an artist belonging to the Visual Information Design Association of Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Cattle and farming equipment are paraded on downtown Seoul streets on Oct. 28, 2015, ahead of Farmers’ Day on Nov. 11. The parade is also a ritual to wish for the advancement of the agricultural industry. (Yonhap)