Oh, not this thing again.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has reportedly instructed the subways authorities to operate women-only subway cars on Seoul subways. The city plans to collect public opinions on the matter through August and begin trial operations from September.
Apparently under consideration is a trial plan that would reserve the middle two cars of the last train on Line 2 for women only.
KORAIL tried this on Line 1 back in 1992, but it was not well enforced and came to nothing. In 2007, the city pushed plans to revive women-only cars on Line 6 and 7, but abandoned the plans in the face of public opposition. A city official told the Dong-A Ilbo the city plans to closely analyze the reasons for the previous failures and find a way so that women can ride the subway in safety.
The plan is a reaction to a continuing number of sexual assaults and molestation. According to subway cops, a total of 1,192 subway sex criminals were caught in 2010, a 77% increase from the previous year. There’s a diversity of crime going on, too, from groping to dudes taking up-skirt photos using their cellphones.
Not everybody is happy with this idea. The head of a sexual violence counseling center said the plan might make women feel pressured to go to the women-only cars, and that until you change public attitudes, one won’t be able to end sexual molestation with separate cars.
A subway official, meanwhile, wondered if they’ll be able to enforce the women-only policy as they cannot forcibly eject male passengers.
Marmot’s Note: To refer back to an earlier post here, I think we could solve this problem quite easily by making women wear burkas, although admittedly, this would detract somewhat from Seoul’s summer scenery. Barring that, subway passengers themselves can enforce some degree of decorum, too.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Unless they also make 2 train-cars “mens only” – then it is very sexist.
Besides, Korean men might starting using it as a “defence”
Court – “Why did you grope the lady?”
Man – “because she was in the ‘mixed gender car’ – so she asked for it, she should have been in the womens car”.
Korean women don’t want equal rights. They have women car parks and women train carriages..how can they expect equal rights?
1st and last cars on Korail trains during peak hours were women (children and oldies?) only…at least in 2006 they were. But never on line 2…yet.
I could definitely get behind a ‘jinjja ajumma’-only car. (Or in front of it, as the case might be, if it were in the middle of the train.)
All those chicks in high heels and tight skirts packed into a tight space? Hell, I think I’d pay to see that!
With the sexual peccadilloes of some of the folks in this country, it doesn’t suprise me thet many want ‘women only carriages’.
Teenager screws dead 68 year old suicide woman to ‘see what would happen!’ And some people in Korea call Japanese people byeontae.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110720000448
I want to know if women’s groups have been pushing for this. Like the women’s only parking spots, it comes across as a little paternalistic. Have women’s opinions been sought out, and have women come out in favor of this? Then I say go for it… I’d be happier to see stronger “hey don’t be a perv” PSA campaigns than this circumvention of the problem that some men think it’s OK to grope etc., in the same way I’d rather see stronger mental health programs in Korea than higher fences and wall guards blocking popular suicide spots like bridges and subway platforms.
There’s never a shortage of men who know what’s best for women; I’m curious if there are also men in decision-making (or at least informing) positions that like to ASK women about stuff that affects them.
This is idiotic. One of the nice things about the Seoul subway as that you get on, and you then you can change cars if need be if you want to be near your preferred exit point (Say to save you travel time during a transfer or something)
I could easily end up getting stuck on either side of the “women’s cars”, or those particular cars might be the ideal ones for a transfer/exit and they’d no longer be available or I wouldn’t be able to get to the other side.
I’ll have to jam a wig in my bag just so I can use the damn subway.
Robert, I can no longer +1 this to Google+ on the old Wordpress theme. :’(
Also, they better not make Women only cars on the subway. That would be really lame.
I don’t think it is such a bad idea, also cos if you guys think about it men and women have a different approach to personal space.
From what i heard results weren’t that bad in Japan
#6,
Good point – like I suggest to them, I’ll start listening to the anti-abortionists when most of the people in charge are women. It’s like having a man as president of NOW.
But if there’re no women around to impress, aren’t the guys going to let it all hang out, scratching their bums and spitting everywhere and picking their noses and farting?
We need women all over the subway cars. They keep things civil.
Robert Koehler suggests: “subway passengers themselves can enforce some degree of decorum, too.”
They can try, but we see that this doesn’t always work.
That said, I also think the idea of gender separation is counterproductive.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Keith, you’re projecting. Seoul, like no other city in the world except Tokyo, is incredibly safe for women both on and off public transportation. The problem is not, as these highly dubious and ridiculously exaggerated reports allege that women are getting “sexually molested” and assaulted on subway cars routinely as some might want us to believe. The problem is that an increasing number of Korean women with personality disorders — particularly schizophrenic paranoids, and those with narcissistic, borderline or histrionic personality disorders have been emboldened to act out and over-react to the least bit of perceived insult more than ever before. In other words, these crazies are coming out of the woodwork in droves.
Then add to this the current ‘girls-generation’ mentality where reverse gender discrimination has become the de rigueur as of late, with many high-level ministers being influenced and controlled by female shamans or mistresses, and you have a screwed-up, sexist government and society that is not only devoid of any common sense, but has completely lost its marbles.
Yes, I note that you yourself were quoted as some sort of “expert” by the local press reporting on the Seoul “Slutwalk”.
Kind of like a lot of folks who complain about perceived racism and sexism to the EEOC, eh Hank?
Crazies acting out and girls generation syndrome both are real; so is good old-fashioned groping/sexual assault.
LOL!!!
Oh, and what’s up with this bullshit?
Pot calling kettle black I see.
Allow me to be a bit more clearer on my “Pot calling kettle black I see” statement. That statement was referring to this line:
Quite ridiculous, this is clear discrimination and accordingly is Contrary to the Korean constitution which provides for Gender Equality.
They should have done this well before ’92.
+1 to Rob. How many of those women-only parking spots are actually being used by women? Or being used period?
“A subway official, meanwhile, wondered if they’ll be able to enforce the women-only policy as they cannot forcibly eject male passengers.”
Train official: “Please, sir, won’t you kindly move to the next car over?”
Sounds like Oliver asking for more food.
Personally, I’d love to see an old-person car – that way I don’t have to ‘oops, sorry my big bag hit you in the nads while you’re trying to get ON while 50 people are trying to get OFF the train’.
@13) I’d say Singapore is safer than Seoul, or Tokyo. There are lots of perverts in Korea, it’s a simple fact. Almost all the women I know who’ve spent any considerable amount of time in Korea have been flashed at, followed and or propositioned by some creepy fellow, groped, had an issue with a taxi driver being lecherous and asking very ‘inappropriate’ questions, or been made to feel very uncomfortable by a certain type of ‘man’. Even the youngest children know what a ‘Burberry Man’ is.
As a male I feel very safe in Seoul, for women it is often different. I used to work at a high school for girls, and perverts sneaking onto campus or hanging around the school gate to flash their dicks at the girls was a quite regular thing.
I don’t agree with a separate carriage for the ladies, but I can see the point. As someone mentioned earlier. Decent punishment for the perverts, not allowing the ‘drunk defence’ in court, more effective enforcement (the police are a bit of a joke in Korea), and a change in some people’s misogynistic attitudes would be far better.
It happens everywhere, but due to some attitudes (like yours) Korean men feel they can get away with some pretty disgusting behaviour. A good friend of mine was flashed in the UK, and was very upset at seeing the strange guy masturbating in front of her. She came running back to the house crying. Me and a few friends went out, found the guy (her description was accurate, you couldn’t miss him really as he had creep written all over him and was dressed very strangely) called her to confirm we had our man then… Well, put it this way, he’ll think twice about doing it again!
Rapist are like serial killers. A serial killer will start torturing animals before moving onto murdering humans, a rapist will start flashing women and stealing underwear before raping them.
much better than seperate cars would be intensive training in taekwondo and akido for most of the young women here…
and hey, given that Constitutional provision cited above, just WHY is it that the Girl’s Generation isn’t doing military service alongside their pathetic victims…? The skills-training & confidence they’d get from boot-camp would go a long way toward solving the problem at hand…
Interesting point, perhaps the military doesn’t come within political economic social and cultural !!!
Strange that, I thought standard operating procedure was to laugh and call everyone to come have a look at this pathetic wiener.
You know the reason why, right?
If it’s such a “simple fact” why no backing it up with some simple, credible, non-anecdotal variety evidence?
Sure….If you say so….
@25 women react differently. That’s why perverts target them. Criminals target the weak people.
@26 we weren’t too rough with him. He got what he deserved, a little fear and we confiscated all his clothing. We made a nice little fire with his clothes and then let him go. If you don’t believe me, I care not.
Wow!!!
This is one of the craziest, nuttiest things I’ve ever heard! 2 subway cars? What if there are 100 women who need to take the subway?
I disagree with this kind of policy/law. It’s ridiculous. Why not put more law enforcement in the stations instead?
Reserve 2 cars for women? Wow, so clueless in my opinion.
I wonder how the trial will work out this time around. My prediction – this law/rule will never survive. It’s the 21st century for goodness sakes.
Get the women to carry mace and get more police down there in the subway stations.
You must log in to post a comment.
{ 1 trackback }