Platform screen doors, a standard feature in Korean subway stations since the 2000s, have arrived with the Korean Wave to transport systems in Asia, Europe and beyond
A train glides into the station behind a transparent barrier. As it comes to a stop, a glass door opens, allowing passengers to board and disembark.
This scene, repeated every few minutes all across Seoul’s subway network, is gaining renewed attention among South Koreans in the light of fears that have arisen recently among New York commuters over subway pushing incidents.
"It's such a relief that every station in Korea has ‘screen doors’ installed,” a user commented on a YouTube video showing a recent incident at a New York subway station. The person was referring to the platform screen door system, a standard feature at all subway stations in the capital Seoul and other cities.
Safety doors were first introduced in 2005 in Seoul and were expanded to all stations by 2009 in the capital city, following a tragic incident in 2003 when a homeless man pushed a woman in her 40s onto the tracks, causing her death.
Before this, accidents involving suicides, intoxicated passengers, and people with disabilities falling onto the tracks had been recurring problems.
By 2015, platform screens had become mandatory for all subway stations in South Korea.
According to Seoul Metro, the subway operator, between 2001 and 2009 when the safety system was expanded to all stations in Seoul, the city saw an average of approximately 34 suicide attempts at subway platforms annually.
Since 2009, there have been only two such incidents, both in 2011, and there have been zero cases ever since, thanks to subsequent improvements to the system.
University graduate Jung Yu-jin, in her 20s, said, "I would feel much less safe if the screen doors were not there. I'm thankful we have them."
Although the primary purpose of the doors is to enhance safety, Korea’s subway operators and users have discovered additional benefits. Like wraps on the exteriors of buses, they provide space for advertising, public campaigns as well as cultural displays such as poetry. They also contribute to better air quality by blocking dust from the tracks.
Kim Ye-won, another woman in her 20s, shared, "I really enjoy the poems on the screen doors, especially those written by elderly people learning Hangeul. They're both touching and inspiring."
South Korean companies have been exporting Korea’s platform screen door systems to other countries, with Korea-built screens now installed in subway stations in Malaysia, China, Brazil and elsewhere.
