The seats on a crowded Seoul train that stay empty, and why

At eight in the morning on Line 2, commuters stand shoulder to shoulder, yet a few seats in the car stay empty. A first-time visitor sees a lucky gap. A Seoul commuter sees a rule and leaves the seat alone.

The pink seat in the middle of the bench

Every car on the Seoul subway has a pair of pink seats with a pink sticker on the floor in front of them. These are imsanbu baeryeoseok (임산부 배려석), seats kept for pregnant riders. The words on the floor describe the seat as being for tomorrow's main character.

내일의 주인공을 위한 자리입니다.

Early pregnancy rarely shows, so many expectant women hang a small round badge from their bag. It reads imsanbu meonjeo (임산부 먼저), or "pregnant women first", and public health centres hand it out. Most riders who aren't pregnant leave the pink seat free instead of sitting down and waiting for someone to ask. In Busan, some cars have a small lamp next to the seat that lights up pink when a rider carrying a matching tag comes close.

The seats at the end of the car

Both ends of each car hold the noyakjaseok (노약자석), seats for older passengers, disabled riders and adults carrying small children. Younger commuters usually stand in front of them, even with heavy bags and even when the rest of the train is full. Nothing forbids sitting there, but people will look at you.

What a visitor can do

Leave both kinds of seat free unless they are meant for you. If you are pregnant and travelling, ask at a station's customer service centre whether you can get a badge.

You learn the rest by watching. Notice who stays standing, and how an older rider walks the length of the car to the end seats without stopping to check. The empty seat isn't a flaw in the system. It shows the system is working.