Unreasonable regulation

Dear editor,

This letter is in response to a June 18 article, “Is favoritism for foreigners to access Mt. Nam justifiable?” I did not know that this kind of discrimination against Koreans existed before I read the article.

Mt. Nam is everyone’s place. It is unfair to allow only taxis carrying foreign nationals to pass through the checkpoint. Banning Koreans from using taxis to get to the top of it does not make any sense to me. In my opinion, it sounds more reasonable if Koreans are the ones who are granted easy access. It is ironic that Koreans face discrimination in order to give preferential treatment to foreigners.

If taxis are allowed regardless of the nationality of passengers, the regulation still has another problem. The regulation says it is for nature preservation. Then, why are taxis allowed? There are buses people can use, which are more environment-friendly than taxis. Buses are not as convenient but reduce the number of cars on the mountain, usually filling up all their seats with many visitors on weekends.

While inconvenient and sometimes uncomfortable, it is the “greenest” way for people to travel or visit some places. Additionally, an official said that the regulation was based on requests from tourist agencies as well as bus and taxi companies, which has nothing to do with protection of the environment. Is the regulation really intended for nature preservation?

At the cost of its own people’s convenience and the environment, Seoul city government is showing favoritism to foreigners. I am concerned that this kind of treatment could give false impression to foreign tourists that they have certain privileges in Korea and they may make mistakes because of it.

For the sake of Koreans, the environment, and the foreign tourists, the regulation must be abolished immediately.

Ko Chang-kyoo

Seoul