Why the end seats on a Seoul subway carriage stay empty

On a crowded Seoul subway, the seats at each end of the carriage often stay empty. People stand beside them, one hand on the rail, and nobody sits.

The benches at each end

These are noyakja-seok (노약자석), short benches of three reserved for older passengers, people with disabilities, pregnant women and anyone carrying a small child. Pictograms above them say so. Elsewhere a priority seat is often one you take and then give up; here, younger riders generally leave it alone, even at rush hour.

The pink seat on the long bench

On the long benches, look for one seat with a pink cover and a pink panel on the floor in front of it. This is the imsanbu baeryeoseok (임산부 배려석), introduced in Seoul in 2013 for pregnant passengers, some of whom carry a small pink badge on their bag. Early pregnancy does not show, so the seat is meant to be left empty rather than offered. The words beside it translate as a seat for tomorrow's main character.

내일의 주인공을 위한 자리입니다.

What to do as a visitor

Take any ordinary seat, and stand if there is none. If you are pregnant, travelling with a toddler, injured or simply older, the end benches are meant for you. With a rucksack in a full car, swing it round to your front; posters in the stations ask for exactly this.

No one enforces any of this. It holds because everyone in the carriage can see it.