I usually enjoy riding a shared kickboard with Ttareungi.
I often ride to and from the National Assembly to do research.
So, last week, the controversy surrounding the so-called Ttareungi photo of Lee Jun-seok, the new representative of the People's Power, drew more attention.
The words of the conservative opposition party leader in their 30s, such as the extraordinary actions and show-offs, erupted mainly from the political circles.
It felt so unusual.
If so, was CEO Jun-seok Lee's Ttareungi going to work a show?
If we talk at the pace that Koreans like, it's not directing, but I think it can be a calculated scene to some extent.
According to reporter Kim Do-yeon's coverage today, the photo was taken by only two photographers, the Chosun Ilbo and the Hankyoreh newspaper.
The explanation is that the photo was taken while waiting to cover the new party leader's first trip to work, and he ran to the back of the main office just before his arrival (the National Assembly main office only opens the back door on holidays) and ran to rescue him.
If it had been a 'squeeze and hit' directing, it would have been notified to the press, and not only the photos but also the broadcasters' video reporters would have taken the video.
However, the reporter's opinion is that Lee, who is reputed to be smart, would not have ridden the Ttareungi without thinking.
▶ Lee Jun-seok's 'Ttareungi' work photos were reported like this
However, even if CEO Lee's 'Commuting to Ttareungi' was a show after all, it is questionable whether it would be rude and insulting.
Regardless of your political orientation.
First of all, shared means of transportation such as Ttareung or shared kickboards are called the 'Last Mile', and it is a concept that takes you from a public transportation platform such as a subway station or a bus stop to right in front of your final destination.
When I don't want to walk or I'm late, I ride for just a few minutes.
It's cheap and fast.
Ttareungi can be ridden unlimitedly within an hour for only 1,000 won, and shared kickboards are also structured at a basic fee of 1,000 won and at most a few hundred won.
It's a bit far to walk and it's actually the best if you're going to a place that's difficult to get to by car.
In addition, Ttareungi is powered by human power and shared kickboards are powered by electricity, making them an eco-friendly means of transportation.
It's a very valuable victory for civilization for a nerd like me (if there are users around, I recommend asking them).
Moreover, the National Assembly is also a place with the best environment to ride Ttareungi.
Ttareungi stands are installed in buildings with frequent traffic, such as the National Assembly Building, the National Assembly Building, and the Communication Hall, as well as the subway station at the National Assembly Building.
The infrastructure is so good that it would be a bit overkill for those who have had experience of finding a Ttareungi stand in places other than the National Assembly.
I don't know, but if you calculate the density of Ttareungi per area in Seoul, the National Assembly is probably the highest.
What if it wasn't for Lee Jun-seok?
Let's make an assumption. What if a politician other than Lee Jun-seok had ridden the Ttareungi to work? If former lawmaker Na Kyung-won had won the National Power of Peoples Congress and went to work instead of a car, would it have been such a hot topic? I don't think it was. Perhaps the reaction of the general public as well as the Democrats was cold. The same is true if you substitute other established politicians other than Na Kyung-won. Why? It's a scene I've seen a lot. I think it is highly likely that high-ranking officials dared to ride public transportation that they did not know about fares, or they dared to go to traditional markets, where influential politicians did not often go, to shop during the election season. It's not just because of the topicality of Lee Jun-seok these days.
I think the difference comes from the fact that CEO Lee Jun-seok actually rides a Ttareungi. As a reporter for the Democratic Party, I have never covered Lee, nor have I ever been able to report on it, but I think the difference comes from the fact that he has the image of riding a Ttareungi for some reason. This is not because Lee Jun-seok came out of Harvard University and was a representative of the opposition party in his 30s, but because he is a real man in his 30s who can install applications on his smartphone and use Ttareung or public kickboards. You may be thinking how great it is to have only one Ttareungi, but I think this point is something our politics has not been able to show well. A picture of a politician living the life of a real citizen (to be precise, the 2030 or 3040 generation he symbolizes).
I mentioned it briefly before, but there are scenes that happen if you just forget about it in politics. These are scenes where you ask a powerful politician or a high-ranking official for public transportation fares, and you get absurd answers. Former lawmaker Chung Mong-joon was sentenced to 'permanent lockdown' as he was summoned every time something similar happened after saying "Is it about 70 won" for the bus fare, which was 1,000 won at the time, during a debate for the party's representative candidate in 2008. Just a few months ago, former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Byun Chang-heum laughed when he replied that the basic taxi fare was "about 1,200 won." Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, paid 20,000 won for the airport railroad fare on the way home is aegyo level.
Of course, politicians and high-ranking officials don't have to memorize public transportation fares. The qualities and virtues required of them are not 'ride on public transport' either. However, there are things that citizens who have been watching this for a long time feel deeply in their bones. These are things like the fact or impression that the so-called 'high-ranking people' who determine the lives of ordinary citizens are actually separated from the lives of ordinary citizens.
We know that public kickboard users who have ever been away for hours on the street because they couldn't catch a taxi late at night during the year-end and New Year holidays, or who suddenly paid a fine of tens of thousands of won for not wearing a hard hat.
Even if you don't know it clearly, everyone is vaguely noticing it.
The fact that the people who make and discuss these policies do not ride Ttareung or public kickboards, but mostly use official cars.
Despite the nightly battle for catching taxis, the government and the National Assembly did nothing, and the startups were eliminated altogether.
Still, people have to wait for a taxi every night and use all sorts of tricks to get home (these days, they don't get caught until 10 o'clock...).
The share of shared kickboards has dropped by almost half since the mandatory helmet was implemented.
It was more like a comedy to see more than half of them disappear within a few days after the public hard hat was caught on the Ttareungi holder.
If you know the actual field, you can't just let it go.
The deep-rooted political hatred in our society stems from this.
It is ironic that the people who control the lives of citizens are far from the lives of citizens.
The irony that those who decide the lives of citizens are the furthest from them.
So, I think that the reporter's comments about 'Lee Jun-seok Ttareungi' and the main office being close to the exit are far from the essence of the current phenomenon in Korean politics. The perspectives of politicians looking at Lee Jun-seok are diverse. Affective emotions and gazes intersect: concern and expectation, jealousy and vigilance, fear and devaluation However, just because the party is different or if you don't like a person does not mean you have to turn away from the values and phenomena he symbolizes or implies.
As you enter and exit the National Assembly, you will see quite a few members of Congress riding Genesis or Carnival even if they are only a few tens of meters away (of course, there are legislators walking around). I don't want to criticize lawmakers who are always busy and have their own stories to drive around. However, one of the most urgent tasks of Korean politics right now is to close the gap between 'politics of their own' and 'politics felt by citizens'. In that context, even if it's a show, Lee Jun-seok's 'Commuting to Ttareungi' seems to have something for other politicians to learn.