Students 'sleeping on subway' remind us how important it is to help others

By Lee Ji-hye

If you’re like most commuters, you’ve had the experience of dozing off on the subway and missing your stop.

A group of eight students have taken this common situation and put it at the center of a feel-good video campaign.

The message sent by the campaign is simple: Don’t be so consumed by your own life that you can’t help others, for instance, by gently waking up a slumbering commuter.

The video shows students sleeping on the subway with a sign that asks people to wake them up at a certain station. It is titled “Wake Me Up at This Station.”

To the surprise of some viewers, fellow commuters did step in and wake up the students with a gentle nudge.

The student-made video was part of a promotion for department store AK Plaza.

One woman, who complied with the students’ requests, was asked why she lent a helping hand.

"Imagine how desperate that person would have been, he could have spent the whole night studying,” she said. "It's how all mothers would feel, and I thought of my son, too," she explained.

The video received some 60,000 views on YouTube within five days, with viewers calling it beautiful and moving.

Making the video took 50 hours of filming, editing and discussion, according to the members of Miss AK, the student group behind the project.

Lim Jung-hwan, 23, one of the members of the group, said the video aims to remind people to look out for each other.

"We thought the subway was a representative case of selfishness and careless individualism in today's society," said Lim.

"I'm pretty sure everyone has experienced missing a station because they were dosing off. We asked ourselves, ‘What if a person told others which station he or she planned to get off at?’ Would that make a difference?" explained Lim.

Another member, Hong Yeon-ju, 21, said that it wasn't easy putting the project together.

"It was quite difficult making sure no one noticed the hidden camera," Hong said. "I have to be honest; there were even people that were angry at the fact that they were being filmed without knowing.

“We wanted to say that this heartless society we seem to be living in, it’s not such a bad place after all. But we have to care about those around us and help those in need.”

To find more about the video project, visit: www.akplazablog.com.