At 1am, as the curfew hour of the Pusan National University (PNU) dormitory approaches, the area in front of Woongbee Hall in Busan Campus is filled with kickboards disorderly parked outside parking zones. Despite expanding the kickboard parking areas last year, the problem persists because users continue to park outside the designated zones. Pedestrians, taxi drivers, and delivery drivers are pulling their hair out over precarious behaviors that threaten safety.

According to the coverage of “Channel PNU” in September 20th, PNU significantly expanded kickboard parking areas in September last year and established electric kickboards parking zones within the motorcycle parking area at the Woongbee Hall (reported by “Channel PNU” on September 1st, 2022). At that time, the expansion of parking areas was expected to alleviate parking difficulties and enhance safety, but the situation remains unchanged. The primary reason is that students are parking at the entrance of parking areas instead of going there, citing “convenience” as their rationale.

Several students have expressed their discomfort with the thoughtless behavior of electric kickboard users. On September 11th, an opinion was posted on Everytime, the anonymous community of PNU, saying, "This is just not right. Please put them inside the parking area. Because of this, motorcycles parked inside cannot be taken out, and cars can’t pass by." Many students empathized with this post and criticized the behavior of some users who return their kickboards at the entrance even when ample parking space is available.

The disorderly parking of kickboards in front of Woongbee Hall has led to various inconvenient situations. Freight trucks passing through the area often have to navigate through the crowded kickboards, and the kickboards obstruct the passage of other students in the Woongbi Hall. Student A (School of Public Policy and Management, 23), living in Woongbee Hall, mentioned, "On dark nights, the parked kickboards are hard to see, so I've even bumped into them while walking."

It is found that there is a limit to improving chronic problems with parking management programs. The kickboards parking management program requires recognition within a designated parking zone through a mobile app. However, the recognition range is not precise enough, allowing kickboards to be parked outside the designated areas. While the idea of further narrowing the designated parking zones inside has been proposed, it likely leads to errors in the application's recognition of parking zones. It can’t be a solution because kickboards not parked in Woongbee Hall may accumulate in nearby parking areas, creating additional safety concerns.

Ultimately, individual efforts to maintain parking order and practical measures such as installing CCTV cameras and imposing sanctions are needed to address the situation. PNU student B said, "The main reason for parking areas and roads being blocked due to kickboards is the first person who parks near the entrance. If users didn't park near the entrance from the beginning, these issues would not occur."

Dormitories of PNU are also aware of the seriousness of the kickboard parking problem. A representative from the Dormitory stated, "We understand that due to Woongbee Hall's elevated location, kickboards are frequently used. However, improper parking is a separate issue. The dormitories of PNU take this matter seriously and consider measures such as designating Woongbee Hall's kickboard parking area as a no-parking zone or even restricting the return kickboards in that area.”

Reporter Yoon Seo-Young

Translated by Ha Chae-Won