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With the number of mobile phone subscribers peaking to 48 million in South Korea of January 2011, it is clearly not an overstatement to say mobile phone use in South Korea is becoming more and more common in everday life. When stepping into a Seoul subway tube, a normal foreigner might be dumbfounded by what he or she sees; citizens ranging from young to old all immersed in their mobile phones, not even looking up or at their accompanies. Like this, mobile use on the go is a very common phenomenon but some point out that it should be restricted during public transportation. However, its grounding support is faulty, and the notion for containing moblie use proves as impratical for the following reasons.
Prominently, critics point out that mobile phone use during public transportation distracts others severely. However, this kind of cases are barely nonexistent exempting a few minority. Today's globalized 21st century citizens knows better than to be a continuous bother to other passengers, because of their basic educated etiquettes. They have a basic knowledge of trying not to be nuisance to one another, because they would not like to be on the receiving end as well. In fact, according to Korean Institute of Statistics, a 2010 survey of indicated more than 82 % of respondees 'always tries to not bother other citizens while in trains, subways, or on the bus'. Like this, the few minority who do yap on the phone in a excessively loud voice is a rare occasion and even in the case of those becoming a bother to other customers; the problem is not a life-and-death matter.
Next, the integerity of smart phone use in citizens' lives makes the notion of prohibiting passengers from using mobile phone in public transportation methods an impratical idea as well as infringing citizens rights. South Korea, albeit rising newcomers like India or China, is the dominant leader of the global information technology era, particularly in the smart phone sector with Samsung Electronics enterprise. Therefore, its people are always adamant in getting a grip on the newest smart phone model, be it the 2011 Samsung Galaxy model, or Iphone 5 of Apple company. They incorporate smart phone use into their everyday lives. For example, Min Ji Kim, a Seoul National University student graduate, works with Meritz, a financial bank. She starts her day at 6 am with checking the weather on her Iphone. Next, she checks the stock market while she rolls off her bed, and watches headlines news while heading to work, located in Dae Chi dong. After a long, excruciating day at work, she sends off some immediate email responds to her colleagues while returning home on the subway. Like this illustrates, more and more korean people are infused with smart phone use for its convenience. To reprimand the use of these widely distributed communication devices is unreasonable and more importantly, impossible. To sum up, the use of cell phones may cause irritation to some public transportation passengers, but this is minimal damage because citizens of the contemporary era are better educated in public etiquette. Considering the already heavy infusion of smart phones into Korean's lifestyles, it is irrational to believe restricting use of mobiles will be possible, and such intolerance is an infringement on individuals lifestyles. |