How to confront manspreaders in subway

The video footage contains a common scene in a subway train. A man sitting spreading his legs wide, so-called "manspreader," and a young woman squeezed in a corner next to him. However, the situation is reversed when the doors open. The woman on heels kicks him in the leg and gets off the train quickly. The man, puzzled by unexpected attack, dusts off his pants and makes an embarrassing face.

This is the video titled "Counterattack on Manspreader," which drew attention of the public in 2010. Victims of "manspreaders" posted a series of comments in favor of the women in the film, saying, “I feel great,” or “Let’s make partitions between the seats to prevent men from spreading legs.” In the next year, there was a "manspreader assault incident" in which a manspreader in his 50s hit a 20-something man who complained about his sitting style with legs wide apart. Men spreading their legs wide in subway seats are not a headache only for Korea. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York City launched a campaign against practice of manspreading this week. Posters captioned “Dude, Stop the Spread, Please” with an image of a man sitting with his legs spread, were put on in all subway lines.

Maximum of 6.1 million passengers a day ride subway trains in New York. The ill-mannered practice of sitting with legs spreading wide in a crowded train during traffic congestion time has been criticized through SNS postings by feminists in the past. Finally, the transportation authority initiated a campaign to raise awareness. As the U.K. daily Telegraph reported New York’s campaign recently, British citizens have made requests for the same campaign against manspreaders.

It is not only manspreaders who do not have a courtesy in the subways. For example, passengers cause inconvenience to others by carrying big backpacks in a crowded train, or rushing into the car by pushing others when doors are about to close. Some are standing in front of doors without intention to get off. Other unmannerly cases are those talking loud on the phone as if it were their own home, or those eating food in the car. All of these uncivil behaviors are from lack of cares to others. Men spreading legs have become a global issue to the extent where the English word "manspreader" is newly coined. Please remember, all the manspreaders sitting with legs wide apart in public spaces. The seats must be shared evenly as we pay for the same fare!