"Can't a Young Person Stand?"... Middle-Aged Woman with Standing Ticket Occupies KTX First Class Seat

"Give Up Your Seat, My Legs Hurt"
Standing Passenger Demands Reserved Seat on KTX

"Why are young people these days so cold-hearted?"

A story has emerged about a passenger who reserved a KTX First Class seat being unreasonably asked by a standing passenger to give up their seat.

KTX first-class cabin interior. Korail

On May 14, various social networking services (SNS) saw the widespread sharing of a post by a passenger, referred to as Ms. A, who recently took a KTX train to Daegu.

Ms. A stated that when she arrived at her reserved seat, a middle-aged woman was already sitting there. When Ms. A asked, "Excuse me, is this your seat?" the woman replied, "I have a standing ticket, but my legs hurt. Can't a young person stand for a while?" and asked her to give up the seat.

After Ms. A politely declined, the woman reportedly responded brazenly, asking, "Why are young people these days so cold-hearted?" Ms. A eventually called for a crew member.

Ms. A commented, "I booked First Class because I wanted a quiet and comfortable trip, but my rights were infringed upon by standing passengers entering without permission. Access to First Class by standing ticket holders should be strictly prohibited."

As news of the incident spread, online users reacted in agreement with Ms. A, posting comments such as, "They have no shame," "That's an unreasonable request," "This happens more often than people think," and "Many people just demand to swap seats without explanation."

A KTX train is departing from Seoul Station carrying passengers to its destination.

Previously, in December last year, there was another incident where a standing ticket passenger on a KTX train asked another passenger in First Class to swap seats and, after being refused, responded with profanity. Passenger Mr. B had reserved a KTX First Class seat for a business trip to Seoul, when a man approached at Cheonan Station and asked to switch seats, saying he was traveling with his girlfriend.

When Mr. B asked, "Which seat is yours?" the man replied, "I have a standing ticket, so I don’t have a seat." Mr. B said, "I paid extra for First Class, and it’s not even easy to switch with someone from Standard Class. I cannot understand being asked to swap with a standing passenger," and refused the request.

The man insisted again, saying, "Isn't it sad for a couple to ride separately?" and continued to ask for the seat. Mr. B tried to resolve the situation by calling for a train staff member. During this process, the man reportedly insulted Mr. B, calling him "rude" simply because Mr. B closed his eyes to avoid further conversation, and then left the area.

When the staff checked the couple’s tickets, it turned out that the woman also had a standing ticket. The couple was subsequently removed from the First Class car.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.