Seoul Searching: Gridlock

AN STYLE="font-size: 75%; color:#990000">Wednesday, Mar. 7, 2001 | Koreans are sometimes said to be the Italians of Asia -- well, Seoul has little on Naples when it comes to traffic chaos. And it just keeps getting worse.

The Asia crisis three years ago was harsh on South Korea, crippling the economy and throwing countless people out of work. But the downturn had one very sweet upside -- the city's nightmarish traffic jams disappeared for a few months. Now Seoul is drowning in cars again, despite high gas prices, rising unemployment and a sluggish economy.

The New Economy heart of Seoul, south of the Han River that runs through the city, is crisscrossed with broad, geometrically laid out avenues. But at any hour of the day or night, traffic slows to a bumper-to-bumper crawl. Naturally, the auto overload has overflowed onto the city's sidewalks. "No Parking" zones and sidewalks are strewn with illegally parked cars, yet tow trucks are nowhere to be seen. As a newspaper editorial put it this week: Seoul and other parts of the country "are lawless when it comes to parking."

The car is a cherished symbol of Korea's recently achieved wealth, and a refuge of privacy in the middle of a crowded, noisy city. Their numbers attest to Korea's success in building a middle class over the past two decades. But as California discovered, cars have costs. Driving through town in a taxi last weekend, a fellow passenger commented bitterly on the jumble of vehicles jamming the sidewalks. I have to admit I had trouble getting worked up about the issue. I found this carefree approach to the automobile charming in a way, more evidence of the exuberant, devil-may-care spirit that, well, drives this country. Besides, I was thinking of getting some wheels and I sure don't want to spend my day circling the block looking for parking spots. And hey, does a little parking chaos really hurt anybody? Turns out it does.

The traffic crisis has come under the spotlight this week after the death of six firefighters on Sunday -- cars parked on sidewalks reportedly blocked firefighters from getting close to a fire, forcing them to pull their hoses the remaining distance. The burning building collapsed on the firefighters, who had gone inside to look for residents. The accident probably would have happened anyway. But the cars blocking the streets lost the firefighters valuable time, and could have cost the lives of anyone left in the building. (It was later discovered that residents had gotten out before the firemen arrived.)

Ambulance drivers in Seoul face similar, possibly life-threatening delays. The city has been toying with ideas to raise the costs of driving. But until people think the city authorities are serious about clearing the streets, they'll gamble, rightly, that parking illegally is cheaper than paying for parking. So how about jacking up the illegal parking fines until they hurt, then getting some more tow trucks to enforce the pain? Just don't tow my car, O.K.?