A Singaporean tourist who vacationed in South Korea last year was left shaken after a local allegedly slammed a rubbish bin lid on her hand.
She claimed that the man did so to reprimand her for disposing of her rubbish there. At the time, she was at a night market in Seoul.
Source: @shovessnyz on Instagram
Furthermore, the man proceeded to fish out her trash and throw it on the ground.
Taken by surprise, the woman documented her experience in a video, which showed her in tears.
On 17 January, Shovess Neo, who goes by @shovessnyz on Instagram, posted a reel of her in tears titled ‘Crying is my coping mechanism — a story in Korea’.
Source: @shovessnyz on Instagram
She then showed a close-up of her right hand, which had a red mark on it.
The 21-year-old went on to explain that while she was disposing of her trash, an uncle had slammed the lid of a rubbish bin on her hand.
He reportedly told her that she was not allowed to do so at the market, before taking out the trash she had just thrown and tossing it on the ground.
Shovess then ended the video with a clip of herself appearing slightly more composed. Addressing the uncle directly, she wrote that he could have at least told her off nicely.
Additionally, she tried to comfort herself by writing that everything would be okay after having a “good cry”.
Elaborating further in the caption, she said her hand was in pain and red for a good 15 minutes after being hit by the bin lid.
The accumulation of emotions, feelings of pain, and her sister repeatedly checking on her had caused her to burst into tears. Nonetheless, she said that doing so made her feel better afterwards.
In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Shovess said that she had thrown her plastic cup into the trashcan as it was the only one there.
Furthermore, she claimed that it did not have any category labels on it indicating that trash was not allowed.
Source: Kingkongbron on Canva. For illustration purposes only.
After the incident, she said she felt scared and at a loss for words.
However, for the sake of avoiding a confrontation, Shovess did not question the man. She also left the scene right after it occurred.
Despite the unfortunate encounter, Shovess said that her intention behind posting the video was not to draw criticism towards South Korea.
Rather, she shared it in hopes that it could raise awareness and protect others from the same situation.
She added that the incident has not made her view South Korea negatively and put her off revisiting.
In fact, she looks forward to returning after learning the Korean language.
The student shared her hopes with MS News that she’ll be able to speak up and convey her message to the locals clearly after she picks up the language.
Since the video was posted nearly three weeks ago, it has racked up some 14.5 million views.
Some viewers have voiced full support for Shovess, while others called her out for not being more familiar with Korean trash disposal rules.
One commenter who claimed to be Korean shed some light on the trash sorting system there, calling it “quite harsh”.
They explained that Koreans pay for their trash to be taken out and that they may be fined if there are issues.
In response, Shovess said that having such strict regulations does not excuse the man’s behaviour.
She reiterated that if the man had politely informed her of the mistake, she would have taken her trash out and apologised.
Source: Instagram
Meanwhile, another Korean commenter begged to differ, saying that the sorting system would not have applied if the trashcan was at a market, like what Shovess had claimed.
They said that if they were a customer at the market, no one would have told them off for throwing rubbish there. They thus concluded that the man was simply being rude, and advised Shovess to name the market.
However, she decided not to as she did not want to conflate the man’s actions with the greater community there.
At the same time, her story prompted others who had experienced similar treatment from Koreans to come forward.
One alleged that a local girl once hit them on their back after they opened a bus window. As it turns out, the girl wanted the window to stay closed — she slammed it shut after hitting the commenter.
Source: Instagram
When asked if she considered reporting the matter to the police, Shovess told MS News that she didn’t want it to affect her remaining days in South Korea. Should she get stuck at the police station, it would waste her travel experience.
Despite what happened, she still believes in “the good of mankind”.
As for others who wish to visit the country, here’s her advice: “If you’re travelling there, be sure to ask if you could dispose of your trash. If not the kiasi way is to keep your trash in a separate bag and dispose of it when you return to your hotel.”
She also highlighted a suggestion in the comments to discard trash in restrooms in South Korea.
Also read: Tourist From Australia Won’t Visit S’pore Again, Cites Rude Locals As A Reason
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Featured image adapted from @shovessnyz on Instagram.
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