the sport of being a pedestrian

Korea is one of the most densely-packed nations in the world because almost 80 percent of the country's 49 million people live in a handful of cities, while the rest of the mountainous landscape lies relatively barren. Daegu, for example, has a population of about 2.5 million in a little over 550 square miles. That's a population between Chicago and Houston's crammed into a land mass the size of Topeka, Kan.

Because of this, one of my earliest cultural collisions in Korea was of the quite literal sort - learning to navigate the sidewalks. The American-style "walk on the right" thing didn't seem to be working, but there wasn't a clear "walk left" pattern either. Throw in the regular push-carts, motorcycles, bicycles and even cars that have no qualm using these veritable freeways any which way they can, and it's sort of like playing that old arcade/Nintendo game "Frogger" anytime you stroll out into the world. Attempting to run is even more intense.

Through trial and error, I've basically settled on a strategy of hugging the left shoulder but always keeping a watchful eye and being able to jump aside at a moment's notice. It works about 51 percent of the time.

Which is why it was awesome to find the following Korea Times article shedding some light on the whole ordeal. Here's an excerpt:

Korea initially had regulations placing pedestrians on the right side of roads in 1905, but the rules were revised in accordance with Japanese colonial rule in 1921. The United States Army Military Government changed vehicle traffic regulations in order to drive on the right-hand side of roads in 1946. Rules for pedestrian walkways, however, remained unchanged.

The Korean government stated in the Road Traffic Act in 1961 that pedestrians must walk on the left-hand side of roads that do not have a pedestrian path.

But right-handers' natural tendency to walk on the right and Korea's increasing globalization/Westernization has muddled things tremendously, apparently. The national government is even considering measures to standardize walking on the right. So basically history in action. (Yes, I was a copy editor - of course pun intended.)

I found the article posted in this foreigner forum, which has some quite colorful (and potentially offensive - consider yourself fairly warned if you go poking around over there) debate on the whole issue, including this YouTube video clip, which is hilarious if you've lived in a Korean city or in any metropolis with unruly motorists. The rest of you may be mildly entertained.

Sources for the stats: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , www.paulnoll.com, the CIA's The World Factbook , National Statistical Office of Korea, Daegu city government, U.S. Census Bureau