"Where is Hangul?"... Controversy Over Subway Stations Filled with English Among Runners, Crews, and Lockers

Seoul City Operates 'Runner Station' at Yeouinaru Station
'Locker · Best Runner'... English Used Without Korean

Seoul City’s ambitious subway station innovation project No. 1, the 'Yeouinaru Station Runner Station,' has become embroiled in an unexpected controversy. This is because it only features English signage without any Korean.

The Yeouinaru Station Runner's Station displays English text. No Korean descriptions are visible.
[Photo by X (formerly Twitter)]

On the 27th, various online communities and social networking services (SNS) posted articles titled "Korea where subway stations don’t use Korean." The post was a compilation of complaints by X (formerly Twitter) user A, who visited Yeouinaru Station on Line 5 after its remodeling and found no Korean signs, only English guidance.

The Runner Station is characterized by its design that maximizes convenience and accessibility by incorporating the opinions of running experts and running crews from the planning stage. It was created by utilizing some spaces on two floors (B1 floor to M1 floor) within Yeouinaru Station, installing a total of 58 lockers and changing rooms based on runners’ feedback and requests, creating an environment where citizens can easily enjoy running with just their running shoes on their way home from work or without special preparation.

Yeouinaru Station Runner Station with English text visible. No Korean descriptions are seen.
[Photo by X (formerly Twitter) archive]

User A criticized, "Yeouinaru Station on Line 5. Everything is in English," and added, "There is no Korean to be found. How are elderly people supposed to find their way with this?" In the photos posted by A, the unmanned luggage lockers are labeled as 'Locker,' the starting point for running is marked as 'Runner base camp,' and the slogan for excellent runners is displayed as 'Best runner.' In addition, notices throughout the station are written only in English, with Korean barely visible.

Netizens who saw the photos responded with comments such as "Is this really Korea?", "Since when did English become our country’s official language?", "This is serious cultural colonialism," "If you don’t know English, you can’t even use the subway," "They should at least put some Korean in small letters," and "How are elderly or children supposed to understand this?"

Meanwhile, Seoul City announced that this year it will create Fun Stations at Jayang Station (Line 7), Ttukseom Station (Line 2), and Sindang Station (Line 6), and next year at City Hall Station (Line 2) and Munjeong Station (Line 8).