Generational conflict in subway trains

In Korea, subway trains have a photo of a pregnant woman holding dozens of books and a public service advertisement urging consideration for pregnant women. A video recently appeared on the Internet showed a pregnant woman, who was sitting on a row of seats reserved for the disabled, elderly and pregnant women, cussed out senior citizens who asked her to move aside. Internet users were divided over the incident. Though some say that society needs consideration for pregnant women, people blast the woman for being impolite to the elderly passengers and trying to wield power through her father`s occupation.

In October last year, a video clip released on the Internet showed an attack on a teenage girl by a middle-aged woman in a Seoul subway train. The scene started with the woman scolding the girl for abusing her in reaction to her admonishing the girl for mistakenly splashing dirt on her pants. The girl used no deferential language befitting a senior counterpart. The girl shouted, "What do you want from me?" The woman responded by saying, "I was born in 1938. Why?" The aggressive woman pushed the girl and pulled her hair from one side of the aisle to the other. Still another video released in December last year showed a 20-something woman yelling at an elderly woman sitting next to her in a subway train, saying, "You can sit here when I get off. I`m in no mood to talk to you. Don`t say a word to me."

These subway incidents reflect the gloomy side of Korean society. While sexual assaults on subway trains were previously a social issue, fights over seats have grown in apparently reflecting a generational conflict. As people film these incidents and post them on the Internet, the public might feel such a conflict has worsened. Many younger people who carelessly sit in reserved seats must have experienced being scolded by the elderly. While senior citizens expect preferential treatment even in public places including subways, younger people more accustomed to the Western style might be ignorant of this.

People from the West find it interesting to see Korean subways and buses having seats for the disabled, pregnant women and the elderly. In the U.S. and Europe, elderly men give up seats for young women but young people rarely give their seats to elderly men. Senior citizens often feel unpleasant over being treated like has-beens. The fight for seats in subway trains in Korea is discouraging because it reflects lack of communication between generations.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)