Other Passengers Inconvenienced Due to Sitting Blocking the Hallway
A university student couple who bought standing tickets caused public outrage by sitting in the KTX train aisle, blocking the way, and eating food, thereby disturbing other passengers.
On the 26th, Mr. A, who boarded the KTX bound for Gangneung, posted a complaint about the university student couple on an online community.
On the 26th, Mr. A, who boarded the KTX bound for Gangneung, posted a message on an online community reporting a college couple. [Photo by FM Korea]
Mr. A stated, "From the start of the trip, the male and female university students were squatting in the aisle eating pretzels and fried snacks," and added, "They were blocking people from passing and being noisy."
At that time, a train attendant asked, "Since other passengers might feel uncomfortable, would you consider staying out of the aisle?" The female student replied, "We won’t be a bother," but then told the male student, "Hey, don’t be self-conscious. We also paid for standing tickets, so we should be able to be wherever we want."
Later, when a KTX train manager came and asked, "Why are you eating in the train aisle?" the university couple said, "The seats are uncomfortable," and moved out to the corridor outside the passenger area.
However, about 10 minutes later, the couple returned to the passenger area, sat in the aisle again, fed each other pretzels, and loudly talked about how "the eyes are pretty" and "we had a big argument with the attendant, but I apologized and they accepted it," according to Mr. A’s claim.
The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Kang Jin-hyung, Asia Economy]
Mr. A said, "It seems the female student had a seat ticket, and the male student had a standing ticket," and added, "I reported the discomfort, but they seemed out of their minds, so I didn’t even want to talk to them. They’re like Chinese tourists."
He continued, "They said if they can’t get seats together, they will stay in the aisle, so the attendants kept coming to inform them whenever adjacent seats became available," expressing his frustration.
He also said, "The attendants really worked hard. The couple kept arguing after going out to the aisle, then scolded the attendants to apologize, and came back every time adjacent seats opened to report," and revealed photos of the university couple.
In the photos, the man and woman are sitting in the train aisle without masks, chatting. The female student was eating pretzels with the bag placed in front of her legs, and the male student was resting his arm on an empty seat like an armrest. Their sitting across the aisle blocked other passengers’ passage and caused inconvenience.
Netizens who saw this expressed outrage, saying, "Others also paid to ride and have the right to use the space comfortably," "Even if it’s a standing ticket, this is unacceptable," and "It’s a nuisance not only to passengers but also to the attendants."
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