Some journalists took unusual looks at the recent Seollal holiday. Among was this MBC reporter. (Formatting is true to the original transcript.)
[Newsdesk]◀ＡＮＣ▶
Whenever there is a holiday, women wind up waiting in long lines at the bathrooms in highway rest stops.
The recent holiday was no exception.
Recent changes in the law have had little effect.
Goh Hyeon-seung reports.
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In front of the bathrooms in highway rest stops, there are enough men’s bathrooms but women’s bathrooms see long lines.
On holidays and other days off, women have to deal with the same problem.
Here we are at a rest stop off the Seohaean Expressway.
Men have 112 stalls and urinals while women have 73.
That leaves women 39 spaces short.
◀ＩＮＴ▶ Park Yeon-ok
“Women have to wait a long time, so so they bring their kids.. they need more.”
At least half of rest stops have fewer facilities for women. The Anseong rest stop is short by 36 and the Cheonan rest stop is short by 35. Both are on the Gyeongbu Expressway.
Train stations are the same.
At Yongsan Station there 85 spaces for men but only 51 for women.
7 out of 10 train statiosn nationwide have fewer spaces for women.
Airports, including Gimpo International Airport, are mostly the same.
Recent changes in the law require the women’s bathroom sto have more spaces than the men’s bathrooms to solve this problem.
However, there has been little change in buildings subject to the law.
◀ＩＮＴ▶ Park Woo-pil / Haengdam-do Rest Stop
“At peak times we cannot enlarge the bathrooms, and because of that we have to make use of the ones there already by alternating.”
On the recent Seollal holiday women again had to deal with this issue.
