Seoul to bring back women-only subway cars

[buccal.livejournal.com]

By Jung-yoon Choi

Hong Ji-min cannot forget that crowded, morning rush-hour commute when she felt someone groping her.

"I knew that someone did it on purpose, but it had happened so fast," the 25-year-old nurse recalled. "I couldn't do anything but look around with angry eyes. But there was no way I could identify the person in that sea of people."

Seoul city officials now may have a solution for victimized female commuters: women-only subway cars.

South Korean officials next month will begin a program offering the exclusive train coaches, reviving an idea that was abandoned two decades ago. Reaction to the plan has been so mixed, however, that the city is going to test those cars only late at night to see how it goes.

Seoul's vast subway network carries 6.4 million passengers daily. And although the rail cars are generally crowded, the morning and evening commutes are notorious, called a "hell ride" by many because it is a clammy, claustrophobic ordeal.

During rush hour, an increasing number of female passengers have been the target of groping and other sexual crimes. The number of such offenses skyrocketed nearly 80% between 2009 and 2010, to 1,192 cases from 671, according to transportation officials. This year, 600 cases have been reported through the end of July.
 

The assaults have resulted in women demanding to know what the government is going to do.

Crowded Asian neighbors such as Japan, India, Taiwan and Indonesia operate women-only subway cars — to mixed reviews. In Japan, for instance, such subway cars began running in 2000 but have not resulted in a significant decrease in sexual offenses, officials say.

In 1992, South Korea briefly ran women-only subway cars during rush hour but eventually discontinued the program after male passengers began disregarding the rules and boarded the exclusive cars.

This time around will be different, say transportation officials, who plan to start with two women-only cars after 11:30 p.m. on one of the nine subway lines. A security guard will also be posted aboard to make sure male commuters don't flout the ban.

Some women are also more vulnerable in the later hours after they have been drinking, said Shin Man-cheol, a Seoul metropolitan transportation official. "We're hoping that this will reduce sexual crimes at night," he said.

Activists have mixed reactions to the city's plan for separate cars for women.

"We believe that separating women and men won't solve the fundamentals of the problem," said Lee Seon-mi of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center. "To really tackle the problem, you need to understand the crimes. General education is more important."

In a recent survey of 3,000 male and female subway riders, 55% agreed with the idea of female-only cars, while 45% disagreed. Many women welcomed the idea, but others doubted the effectiveness of the new policy.

"When it's crowded, I always have felt uncomfortable to brush against strangers, although I know people don't do it intentionally," said Kim Eun-hye, a 24-year-old office worker. "At least this might solve that problem at late hours."

But another passenger worried that deviants will now know where to find female subway victims. "I will use it when I'm coming back home really late," said Byeon Sun-young, a 29-year-old teacher. "But I'll be afraid that in the future there will be criminals specifically targeting the female-only cars at the late hours."

Hong, the nurse, believes that female passengers who don't take the women-only cars might be seen as setting themselves up for abuse.

"Would the women be criticized if they are harassed while not riding the women-only cars then?" she asked.

Male commuters are also knocking the concept.

"I think it is outrageous to have female-only cars," posted one male Internet user. "How about the elderly and families with young kids? How about male-only cars? What would be the limit?"

Choi works in The Times' Seoul bureau.

Source: LA Times

Comments

[seungigi.livejournal.com]

They shouldn't call it women-only cars, if it's for females only.

And then I weep as I see people who believe they're so very right, ignore how sex is different from gender.

[sparklop.livejournal.com]

How about male-only cars?

yes let's make this all about the poor men.


tho this is a good idea and im sure families w/ young children would be allowed on them as they'd be safer and all

[tippani.livejournal.com]

Hong, the nurse, believes that female passengers who don't take the women-only cars might be seen as setting themselves up for abuse.

[michiyo-mori.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of those guys who say that because a girl was wearing provocative clothing she was asking for sex even though she said no, which they think justifies their rape. >:|

I really don't understand that kind of mindset so I hope she's wrong.

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

Yeah... this makes it sound like they've given up on trying to teach people that groping is wrong.

[nyappnyappcafe.livejournal.com]

"I think it is outrageous to have female-only cars," posted one male Internet user. "How about the elderly and families with young kids? How about male-only cars? What would be the limit?"

I don't think there are as many cases of old lady or baby groping as there are groping of young females on the trains. Either keep your fucking hands to yourself or stop complaining when some measures/progress is trying to be made to keep these women safe.

And correct me if I am wrong, but are their handicap areas for elderly people on the trains? Do elderly people even take the trains as often as the younger generations?

[strawberry-efeu.livejournal.com]

Well, in Korea the elderly get free public transit, so I think they actually do take the subway quite a bit. I think people in Korea are also more likely to give up their seat for an elderly person. imo, there's really no need for a special car for them, they get plenty of respect as it is.

[fallingstarryuu.livejournal.com]

although it seems like a good idea but my personal stance is no. I agree with the concerns raised by some of the women: "But I'll be afraid that in the future there will be criminals specifically targeting the female-only cars at the late hours." as well as "Would the women be criticized if they are harassed while not riding the women-only cars then?"

[lysblack.livejournal.com]

ugh, this shouldn't exist, the women-only cars, those freaking men should learn how to keep their dirty hands for themselves and not harass others.

[x-doctess.livejournal.com]

It would be great if we didn't need them, but unfortunately we're still at a stage when these attacks will be justified by many people and the women will be blamed. So in the meantime, they are necessary =/

[cordyceps.livejournal.com]

fucking christ
this is not going to fix the problem

[consequences.livejournal.com]

A+ icon with A+ comment.

[cordyceps.livejournal.com]

also TELL FUCKING MEN TO STOP TRYING TO FUCKING TOUCH WOMEN WHO DON'T WANT IT
education
jesus
fuck

[kawaiiairbender.livejournal.com]

"I think it is outrageous to have female-only cars,"
*rolls eyes* I think that it's outregous there is a need for them.

I agree with Lee Seon-mi these cars will not solve the problem at all. Women still have to ride in rush hour so they'll keep getting groped. To make a difference people need to be taught it's wrong, there needs to be no stigma against women that come forward and there needs to be strict punishment doled out to offenders. This is like putting a bandaid on a gaping wound.
the subways, ugh looking at them make me feel bothered. too crowded

The teacher that mentions she'd be worried about criminals specifically targeting women late, i think i'd be worried about that too. And I'm sure that Hong Ji-min is right as well. Because it is always the woman's fault :( Clearly if you ride the mixed line then you're asking to be harrassed.

I wonder is there a higher percentage of groping at night? I'd think there would be less people riding so late (and thus less gropings) Not like it would be when people are going to or getting off from work. Or is this a general feeling of safety thing?

Also, the thought of riding such a crowded subway car makes me feel icky.

[kawaiiairbender.livejournal.com]

omg i should write less

[jeit91.livejournal.com]

"I think it is outrageous to have female-only cars," posted one male Internet user. "How about the elderly and families with young kids? How about male-only cars? What would be the limit?"

i hear you brother, what about us men?!

[cordyceps.livejournal.com]

would u like a sammich bb

[meridianslair.livejournal.com]

wat if the women still get groped on women only subway cars? ohohoo~

[angel-9-lives.livejournal.com]

this is actually what went through my mind. men aren't the only gropers out there.

dunno who all here follow japanese music, but Gackt actually had that happen to him on a subway. he said he felt he couldn't say anything just then, because people were more likely to believe it was the woman who was the victim.

there is no winning in this sitch. the best thing to do is educate people, teach them to keep their hands to themselves, and SOMEONE needs to teach women to grab one of the gropers' fingers and break the damn thing already.

[michiyo-mori.livejournal.com]

I think that Korea in general should honour their responsibility more to educate their people on issues such as safe sex and sexual harassment. The fact that this idea has to be entertained shines a light on some bigger problems in their society. Like, why is this even an issue?

Just my opinion :3 Thank you for reading~

[xshinebrighterx.livejournal.com]

If it helps women feel safer, then that's good. Personally I never felt in danger riding the subway in Seoul even in the last train when there were only drunk men in the wagon. I did get creeped at a few times but it was more like people staring creepily, and it was simply solved by moving to a different wagon. However, when I go back to Seoul I will continue to use the mixed wagons because cute guys are part of Seoul Subway's charm.

[michiyo-mori.livejournal.com]

Hahahah! That last part was cute :3

[purekpopology.livejournal.com]

How about they educate men on properly respecting women, and then everyone can still share a car?

I realize that's idealistic, but in the long run, that's what needs to happen. Hopefully these women only cars are a temporary solution.

[sugarbunnyxx.livejournal.com]

Weird. When I went to Korea, I was never in a compartment with more than ten to twenty other people. Never as much as they show in the picture. It was never even crowded when I went to New York. Even during the "notoriously busy times". Am I lucky or is it all just an exaggeration of just a few certain busy lines...

[xshinebrighterx.livejournal.com]

Personally for me it was only crowded when I was going to the office at about 8:30 AM, but if a car was TOO crowded, I just waited for the next one, which most times came almost empty. Just leaving home with time to spare was good enough.
Other than that Myeongdong at 7-9 PM on weekends, but just for a couple stations and then all good. Idk, in my experience it isn't that bad, but my opinion would certainly be different if I was one of those who have gotten gropped.

[padmik.livejournal.com]

Eh that won't solve anything. And there's also the case that women can be harassed by other women in the "women-only cars" :|

[rubyls.livejournal.com]

i think it's a good idea if it makes women feel safer. sometimes i feel squicky when someone comes a little too close in a crowded train, especially when the train/bus jerks to a stop or something and everyone lurches a little.

something really should be done to teach those men to keep their stupid hands to themselves though :/

[mentality34.livejournal.com]

it's not mandatory to ride the in the women only cars lol

[kerplunk.livejournal.com]

I swear if someone ever groped my ass i would soo~ fart in their hand...teach them a lesson.

[mentality34.livejournal.com]

LOL!!

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

why not arm all women with tasers, that will teach the perverts a lesson

[very-pinku.livejournal.com]

I honestly do not agree with this.
Females get groped not only the trains but in buses and other transportation methods as well.
I feel as a society, it needs to be taught that people should simply respect each other and make train rides a safe environment.
Wasn't it taught in grade school to keep your damn hands to yourself?

I think gropers should be penalized more or females have a way to catch the attackers quick enough so the same person can't do the same thing again.

[coyotecolored.livejournal.com]

My (Korean) students actually just did a report on an article about this... from the article we read, though, the 1992 attempt also ran the women-only cars late at night and it was pretty much a unanimous failure because it neither addressed the problem nor the symptoms.

As a foreigner, riding the train is a totally different experience for me. A nearly-6 foot tall white chick just doesn't get groped. I've had drunk old men yell incoherently in my direction, and once someone either threw gum at me or had stuck it to an overhead bar and it happened to fall on me after I sat down, but I've never been molested. Nevertheless, it would be ridiculous for me to say "because it never happened to me, I don't think it's a real problem"... as I've told my students, I'm the scariest thing most people see in any given subway car. The other passengers are nervous about me, not vice versa. Foreigners I know who look Korean have had entirely different experiences.

The rush hours in Seoul are the worst around 8-10 AM, heading into the central reaches, and again around 6-8 PM (maybe later), heading OUTward. If you're not riding at those times, you're probably not being crammed like a sardine in with far too many people with businessmen trying to shove their way in when the doors open and someone's armpits in your face. That's the time when the vast majority of these sexual molestation incidents are happening, whether it's touching a girl's leg, sliding a hand up her skirt, or taking inappropriate pictures.

It was an interesting class debate I had with about 10 Korean middle school girls talking about whether THEY felt safe on the subway, and what they would do in a situation where they felt threatened or saw someone being threatened. I encouraged them to NOT just stand there--shout, yell, kick up a fuss, don't just keep quiet out of embarrassment, which seems to be a recurring problem. Lots of women won't say anything because they're going "oh, maybe it was an accident, I shouldn't fuss..." and you know what? Maybe it WAS. But keeping quiet on the off chance that it was only encourages this kind of creeper to continue unchecked, because they learn that chances are good that no one will complain. I'd like to see more of THAT kind of public education instead of this ridiculous notion of female-only subway cars at hours when most of the molestation isn't happening.

[earthequality.livejournal.com]

Agreement with everything you said.

[strawberry-efeu.livejournal.com]

"We believe that separating women and men won't solve the fundamentals of the problem," said Lee Seon-mi of the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center. "To really tackle the problem, you need to understand the crimes. General education is more important."

This is actually fantastic. For them to realize that there is a bigger problem under all of this that should be addressed, that's great. I feel like when I read Korean news they are always talking about dealing with the symptoms and ignoring the greater problem.