"I Don't Want To, I'm Going To Sleep"... Man Found Sound Asleep in the Middle of Jongno Avenue

"He seemed drunk... It could have been disastrous if it was dark"
Bag forcibly taken and moved to safety

A man sleeping in a bus-only lane around Jongno, Seoul. Screenshot from BobaeDream

Public outrage has erupted after a man was spotted lying down and sleeping in the middle of a bus-only lane in the Jongno area of Seoul.

On the 27th, a post titled "A Person Sleeping in a Bus-Only Lane" was uploaded to the online community BobaeDream.

The author, Mr. A, who is a bus driver, began by saying, "This happened this afternoon. I was driving my bus when, suddenly, traffic stopped in Jongno. After the vehicle in front of me moved, I saw someone lying down."

Mr. A released black box footage of the incident. The video, recorded at around 4:20 p.m. near Jongno 3-ga, shows a man lying in the bus-only lane, using a large bag as a pillow and sleeping.

Mr. A explained, "I considered calling the police, but I thought it would just take too long and something might happen in the meantime, so I decided to handle it myself. When I approached, I found the man sleeping and woke him up, telling him, 'This is a bus lane. It's dangerous, so please move out.' However, the man refused to get up, saying, 'No, I want to sleep.'"

Angered by the situation, Mr. A forcibly took the man's bag, at which point the man finally got up. Mr. A added, "Fortunately, the traffic light was red and there weren't many cars, so I moved the bag to the sidewalk. After moving the bag, I saw the man sluggishly move away."

He continued, "If it had been dark, it could have been really dangerous," and pointed out, "Instead of just avoiding him, people should have made sure the man moved."

Mr. A told Yonhap News TV, "He was wearing a mask, so I couldn't smell anything, but judging by his slurred speech and unsteady gait, I think he was drunk."

Online users who read the story responded with comments such as, "He should be criminally punished for that," "That could have ended very badly," and "Most people only think about doing something but don't actually act. You did a great job."