"Please Take Me to Soyang River" - Taxi Driver's 'Small Concern' That Saved a Passenger

Passenger Heading to Soyanggang Virgin Statue Around 1 AM
Felt Something Strange, Watched and Reported to Police

A taxi driver's story of saving a passenger who was about to make an extreme choice with a small act of concern has become a hot topic.

According to Yonhap News on the 15th, at around 1 a.m. on the 8th, Park In-kyung, who has worked as a taxi driver for over 20 years in Chuncheon-si, Gangwon, picked up a passenger in his 50s who said, "Please take me to the Soyanggang Maiden Statue."

A taxi waiting for passengers at the Seoul Station West Taxi Stand.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Feeling something was off about a passenger heading to a tourist spot with a skywalk installed in the dark early morning, Park asked, "Why are you going there at this hour?"

The passenger briefly replied, "To get some fresh air," and then got out of the taxi. As soon as he got out, the passenger staggered and fell, then struggled to stand and leaned against the stairs near the destination.

With a feeling of 'just in case,' Park stopped about 10 to 20 meters away from the passenger and watched him. When he saw the passenger heading toward the railing of the Maiden Statue, he immediately called 112.

Following a joint police response request, firefighters who arrived at the scene first approached the precariously standing passenger and began persuading him. Only then did the passenger break down in tears he had been holding back and followed the firefighters to the ambulance.

Park said there had been similar incidents in the past. In an interview with Yonhap News, he said, "Once, there was a customer who asked to go to Soyang Dam, and that person was also trying to make an extreme choice," adding, "That day, I stopped driving and had a drink with the customer while listening to him. After spending quite some time like that, I called a taxi and went home together."

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