"Why Not Sit Elsewhere?"... Passenger Sitting in Someone Else's Seat Shows Audacity

Passenger Sitting in Reserved Seat... When Asked to Move, Responds "Why So Many Words?" with Abusive Language
Companions Remain Irritable Even After Changing Seats

A controversy has arisen after a passenger asked another to move from a seat they had reserved, only to be met with anger and hostility.

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On the 15th, a post titled "An Incident During a Weekend Train Trip" was uploaded to an online community. As of 1 p.m. on the 17th, the post had garnered 193,200 views and 3,600 recommendations, becoming a major topic of discussion. The author, Mr. A, who boarded the train to travel to Mindungsan, began by saying, "I originally planned to book the Jeongseon Arirang train, but the schedule was uncertain, so I reserved a seat on the Mugunghwa train."

Mr. A explained, "Among the four cars of the Mugunghwa train, Car 1 is connected to the former Saemaeul-ho special car, so the seats are spacious and comfortable, which is why Car 1 always sells out first. The seat I reserved was a window seat in the middle of Car 1, but when I checked, an older man was sitting there." He continued, "So I asked him to move after confirming the seat, but he said he didn’t want to sit apart from his companion next to him and told me to sit somewhere else."

Mr. A added, "He looked quite a bit older, and since the person next to him seemed to be his companion, I tried to yield and asked him, 'Please tell me where you originally reserved. I will sit there.' He handed me a seat ticket for Car 3," and said, "I felt this wasn’t right, so I told him, 'I reserved Car 1 to travel comfortably. I’m sorry, but I hope you go back to your original seat.'” However, the passenger sitting in the seat, Mr. B, became hostile and angry upon hearing Mr. A’s request to move.

Mr. B scolded Mr. A, saying, "Sit anywhere you want. Why are you making such a fuss?" When Mr. A was at a loss for words, Mr. B put on sunglasses and reclined his seat. Eventually, Mr. A sought help from the train conductor waiting on the platform, and when the conductor asked Mr. B to move, Mr. B finally changed seats. Even while moving, Mr. B showed rude behavior by pointing fingers and cursing at Mr. A.

Mr. A criticized Mr. B and his companion, saying, "Birds of a feather flock together. The woman sitting next to him deliberately showed discomfort throughout the trip and kept eating kimbap, making me feel uncomfortable," and added, "It was a day that made me think several times that I should never behave like that when I get older."

Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "It shouldn’t have escalated if they had spoken nicely from the start," "I understand wanting to sit with your group, but if the seat is reserved, you should move," "People like that only realize their mistake when treated the same way," and "My blood pressure is rising just reading this."

Another netizen, Mr. C, who had a similar experience, shared, "A few years ago, I took a late-night bus to Donghae and Samcheok in Gangwon-do, and the woman sitting in front reclined her seat excessively, touching my legs," and advised, "When I asked her to raise the seat, she got irritated, raised it, and said, 'If you want to go, just go. You’re so noisy.' People like that never change even if you point it out, so it’s best not to engage with them."