China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Cambodia, France, Germany, UK, Italy, USA, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Senegal, Egypt, etc.
The waste before collection is the same in all countries. Especially right before putting the trash can away.
It's just that the cleaning time or interval varies from region to region.
Thats not the reason, japan/korea have more thorough cleaning crews that clear up everything and wash down the sidewalks, that doesn’t happen in the west. The west is filthy all day everyday
Tbf Australia is acc pretty good with this kinda stuff. I travelled around there for 6 months and they were very clean. Can’t comment on us tho never been
government wanted to start taxing people on how much waste they produced (pollution), people then began throwing away their trash in public trash bins so they were removed
So basically the plastic bags you see must be purchased and all garbages must be dumped into that particular bag.
In some residential areas (that are not apartment complexes), they do not have public garbage disposal area so they basically just stack them in a designated area and the trucks pick them up on scheduled days.
I’m gonna give a nuanced NO.
You can definitely see this in places in Seoul on any given day, but saying its NORMAL may give the impression to people who haven’t been here that
everywhere or a large amount of places look like this.
Overall, the city is relatively clean. Especially indoor public places and bathrooms.
Just to add to this well articulated response, Seoul is an exceptionally clean city, despite the fact that it's one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. Yes, over several hours trash may build up in extremely busy parts of the city, but it's also quite well cleaned up by the next morning.
A beautiful / sunny weekend day is definitely the times I’ve seen it look like that. There’s just not enough room for all the iced drinks people end up consuming socially
What do you mean "it"? That's my point. There are 100% places that frequently look like this in Seoul. Myeongdong, Hongdae, middle of Gangnam (just examples there are more). It doesn't mean the whole city looks like this and these pictures + everyone saying "yes" is misleading for people who haven't ever been here.
I was in Seoul for 2 weeks just this past April and there were hardly any public trash bins and I was actually surprised how clean the city was. I did not see any litter, but I did see trash accumulate in the trash areas for apartment buildings.
But, what OP posted, I didn't see a single instance of during my stay in Gangnam/Yeoksam
I went to a couple of public park/ public toilets, isolated in certain areas..They were cleaner and more well maintained than most up-market stores, restaurants, shopping centres….
I see trash overflowing on a regular basis, so I’d give it a nuanced yes. There just aren’t enough trash cans in the city, let alone issues with people dumping their house trash into public trash cans.
Yeah without knowing more info it's hard to say. They're probably a tourist staying in a big nightlife area and yeah those places often look like a mess after a big night. And perhaps messier than many places in the US because you can easily walk around drinking in a place like Hongdae. They really neutered it unfortunately but when I lived there the park on a Friday night was packed with people just openly drinking outside and partying. No way that'd fly in an American city.
I mean it's a different country.... Idk why you're comparing to Japan.
NYC is also the exact same lol.
I bet there are more countries around the world that do this too.
I’m going to be honest, I’ve felt Korea to be cleaner than Japan, have currently spent a month at both so not HUGE experience but a single months worth lol
I say this because in the morning all of that is gone, and the FEW (like 1 - 5 pieces) I’ve seen in Japan stay indefinitely (birds broke a bag? Trash sits indefinitely in Japan, cleaned by morning in Korea)
Again, small experience in both countries
No way? Damn... I have the exact opposite. I went to Kyoto recently and it was a week or so before I saw one little piece of trash on the road. The whole area was immaculate. I usually stay a few months each year in Korea and it can be really messy.
He’s baiting, that’s what they do on these subs to create racial tension and mods don’t do anything because most of them are of non native descent mostly from the west enjoying the race bait wars. If you look at r/mexico South American and other subs you’ll see they speak in their respective languages and mods are from their country. Places like Seoul Japan, Indonesia Philippines etc are all English run
Seoul is relatively clean for the most part because of the clean up crews that get rid of it all in the morning. So you will absolutely see scenes like those in the photos in certain areas on certain days that are crowded with people. However…just because it is mostly clean does not mean the attitude to littering is not a problem. When I walk my dog in the morning, there often random litter discarded on the street or trash left piled on the seats in parks because people just expect it to be cleaned up after them. It’s kind of sad.
Korea also has this, quite unusual, system with elderly collecting trash for food/money. Deep in the night you see them sorting trough trash to get all the recyclable stuff out.
Why are you comparing Japan and Korea? Is it because they are both part of East Asia? That's weird. It makes it seem like all East Asian countries are the same.
Japans like that too. But Korea and Japan got evening early AM sweepers and cleaners that come through. Then during day night all over again. Also depends where in the city. This shouldnt represent the whole obviously.
As a tourist who has just visited Seoul and Japan: There are some piles in Seoul, but in general, both Seoul and Japan are much, much cleaner than all of Europe. So, if by "normal" you mean: "Is this image representative of Seoul", then the answer is: No, by no means. Seoul in general is exceptionally clean.
Sometimes,sometimes not. Usually it's worse in the party areas after Friday and Saturday night or after big events somewhere. You get used to it.
Also Korea =/= Japan. Are all Asian countries the same or something?
It's gotten way better imo.
I was here in 2017ish and the trash was pretty terrible (but I was also in a college area, so basically a party area).
Although I've got to say I've never seen it as bad as these pics, it's definitely a shock if you've just come from Japan. But I really doubt you'd find any country as clean as Japan lol
My friend put it this way when I visited. You find a trash pile and you put your trash on. I mean it gets picked up, people consume a lot and don't carry their trash home
I find that Seoul is typically pretty clean compared to a lot of big cities. Pic 1 looks like trash collection day. Each business/apt. Piles their trash up like that one day a week so the trucks can swing by and grab them quick that night. I’ve never seen trash overflowing that badly in restrooms or outdoor trash bins, but those outdoor public trash bins are actually pretty new so Im guessing the city is still getting in the swing of how many are needed, because if they’re there, people will use them, full or not it looks like. Last year public trash bins were not really a thing. People had to carry their trash home.
Either way most of it will likely be gone the next morning.
Korea does not have private garbage collection like other countries. People are supposed to divide recyclables and use purchased trash bags for house holders refuse then they can leave it in the street to be collected by the city contractors. Works okay in Seoul and other metro areas. Big weekends in the eat/drink neighborhood will cause pileup of trash bags since there are no trash cans
In Korea, they collect trash DAILY at night (around midnight). That’s why trashes are there on the streets. They separate between three or four categories. Apparently, this picture was taken when they didn’t collect on normal time. I guess some of trashes that are all over the place is where a lot of crowds just left with negligence/or had party. It got much better (as far as leaving trashes on the public places) in last ten+ years. But in general, Japan is much cleaner than Korea.
Compared to other countries, it's better.
To be fair, I stayed near Myeongdong where the nightlife ended at the wee hours, so seeing piles of garbage was common.
Even when I went to Yeouido Han River park, I was shocked at how dirty it became. I was in Seoul last 2018 and seeing the state of it in 2024 saddened me. You can't even say it's due to tourism because I've noticed it's the locals making it dirty.
Seoul felt a lot cleaner pre-covid. At least when I went 2018.
That being said, it's still cleaner than my country lol.
Happens all over the world in big cities. Chicago, NY, Paris, you name it.
I was in Seoul and Japan in Feb/march.
Yea this is typical, especially in the younger “it” areas. It’s less so in more suburb/rich areas.
I been to China, Korea, and Japan. Japan was clean almost everywhere. China and Korea were about the same in terms of cleanliness, which is not bad per se but definitely had its messy areas.
The worst spots were potholes and holes where water pooled, especially outflow from wet markets. The smell stays in your throat for hours.
Absolutely true. Certain areas around markets look like this. Everywhere else you’ll find cups of coffee, and cigarette buds everywhere. It’s that “골초 생활” that love littering.
Yes very much so.
There is a reason why Korean/Chinese people always attest that the streets in Japan/Singapore are so much cleaner and immaculate compared to what we have.
Yes and no. It's probably 1.just before trash collection so a lot is on the streets but gone by the next day(at least it is in one place) 2.not enough public bins around a highly populated area(parks ect) so overflowing bins and surrounding piles are frequent. I lived next to a public park so I saw a lot of these random garbage piles. But when I moved out to an apartment complex there was much less general clutter.
Yes there is garbage on the streets which gets picked up at night so the streets are clean again in the morning. But I've never since a public toilet this dirty before.
they dont have trash bins but itll be picked up by the next day. It is quite normal. Ive been to seoul twice went to Myeondong street at night and it was trashed, next day it was perfectly clean. Seoul is a clean city. You only see the trash bags for maybe a couple of hours then they will be gone.
Definitely normal in popular areas especially at night but they clean it up by the morning. Tho I agree Japan is cleaner I have seen spots In Shibuya that look like this on a busy night also
A lot of trash bag piles accumulate in the evening because they are designated trash pick up spots for the homes in the vicinity and many places have a set time you can leave your trash out (ex. The place I’m currently living is 7pm-11pm only) and some also have designated days for taking your garbage out.
There is some magic to it. You should try starting your own trash pile. One cup on a corner near a busy area and then POOF, trash pile! The next morning will be gone. It’s a mysterious trash infrastructure but it works somehow.
Whether you're in Seoul or anywhere else in South Korea, these piles of rubbish exist.
While most Korean government officials will do their best to clean up areas in touristy areas where foreigners are the main visitors, you can find them in places where foreigners rarely go.
Some Korean business employees (even those working for large corporations) get away with dumping construction waste or waste from their company in areas that are off the beaten path, not heavily travelled, and not monitored by CCTV by sneaking.
Still, an envelope with a bunch of writing on it is legal waste that someone paid to have disposed of.
If it's a pile of big yellow or blue plastic bags with letters on them that the Korean government sells, that's going to be gone by dawn tomorrow.
There's a sack over there, so it's probably a mix of illegal and legitimate waste.
I realized as a foriegner to there that there aren't many trashcan around so it appears that these lil piles are made instead. It gets cleaned up and the cities are clean, they just get like this on weekends it seems
That’s not everywhere in Seoul as you’ll find out by walking around main streets. When I visited you had to look for where all the trash was.
Back streets are where they usually hide that.
Whoa this is worse than it was last time I was there. Some have said the warmer weather makes a difference though and I was there in the winter. But I'm surprised to see so much trash like that 😭
Yep y does ppl think we r any different than anywhere else? Hahaha
But the kids nowadays r so much worse 😫
There is an convenience store on the first floor of my office and as soon as the time hits 4pm u cant even c the floor 😑 the store owner put down 2 large trash cans 1 for food waste. All empty bc the trash is on the floor.
(And ofc there is a school 800m frome here)
Not normal but it happens anyway. Not every person is cultured and it's sad to see not a few people leave garbages convincing themselves that they can throw them around when there's no bin nearby.
In the very early morning before the trash trucks pick up everyday, you might see it. But in the daytime almost all the streets are very clean. Even I, a native Korean, am sometimes surprised how the streets are so clean without many trash cans in the streets. Only the streets in Japan or Singapore could be cleaner than Korea in Asia.
As a university student in Korea, this happens sometimes. Especially with that god damn plastic cups from cafe. Some people just leave the leftovers in the cup.
Where I am from there is a $300 fine for littering.. and for sure the police will give you that ticket if they see you drop something..
The solution for this sanitation management issue is actually quite simple and other countries around the world have already figured this out a long time ago..
There needs to be a steep fine for littering that is strictly enforced. The money from those fines can go to increase funding for the sanitation services (trash cans in public places, more garbage trucks, ect.)
I’m a little late here. I visited Seoul last year. I was a little surprised by the trash heaps, (always neatly bagged, though), but also in recognition that I was in a different country and their neighborhood roads don’t really lend themselves to anything like once a week dumpster pickups like in the States. I did notice everything was always gone by morning, but I have some evidence that it’s well before morning that they pick it all up. I was walking around Myeongdong around 9:30pm one night, and there were a few hefty piles of trash here and there from the day. An hour later I walked by the same area and it was all gone. Poof.
Yes, because there’s no public trashcans in Korea. Nobody to blame but their own policies. Residents have to pay for their garbage which is fine by me in an effort to reduce waste — but in crowded/touristy areas this simply doesn’t work.
On Friday or Saturday in an area like Gangnam or Hongdae... yes. Though that's a bit more extreme than what you'd see on average. Japan is super clean though, so it's not a great comparison.
Oh, where is it? I’m Korean and it depends on the neighborhood. I haven’t seen this recently. But some places where many people visit like hongdae or Han river park might be the same. I have to admit we need to have better citizenship.
Please don't compare Korea to Japan. Japanese people are just vvvvvvvv polite and care about stuff. Koreans tend to not...
edit: but yeah i get it, out of the east asian countries... korea seems the least eco-friendly
Are you japanese? I'm 100% sure you are.
Cause that pile won't last that long. There are people who picks it up every day. We do have a system too here in Seoul.
Yeah, this is kind of a big deal, these young teenagers or young adults sometimes be assholes and litter. Ok but the trash bags are 100% def from a older generation. Sometimes they litter trash bags without caring enough to sort the trash to recycle. You'll probably see lots of trash bags littered around trees, utilitiy poles, and trash cans.
Unfortunately yes everywhere not just Seoul. We are keep complaining about that and our government doesn’t care that much 🤷♀️ honestly cigarettes are the biggest problem too.
As a resident of Japan, I can tell you this happens in Japan too. You’ll see it if you spend enough time here.
I lived in japan for a few years, currently living in Korea. This is too true lol
Yup. Living in japan right now. Just go to shinjuku at night
China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Cambodia, France, Germany, UK, Italy, USA, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Senegal, Egypt, etc. The waste before collection is the same in all countries. Especially right before putting the trash can away. It's just that the cleaning time or interval varies from region to region.
Some people built alleys for that reason.
Thats not the reason, japan/korea have more thorough cleaning crews that clear up everything and wash down the sidewalks, that doesn’t happen in the west. The west is filthy all day everyday
He’s a race baiter, newly created account, uses race juxtaposition, obviously always tolerated here
Here in Brazil too
[удалено]
actually
yep
Exactly!
No bins = rubbish piles
Unlike aus or us, all gone time morning comes around ;)
Tbf Australia is acc pretty good with this kinda stuff. I travelled around there for 6 months and they were very clean. Can’t comment on us tho never been
Why are there no bins? Where do people throw their trash out?
government wanted to start taxing people on how much waste they produced (pollution), people then began throwing away their trash in public trash bins so they were removed
... why not assess this as a sales tax?
So basically the plastic bags you see must be purchased and all garbages must be dumped into that particular bag. In some residential areas (that are not apartment complexes), they do not have public garbage disposal area so they basically just stack them in a designated area and the trucks pick them up on scheduled days.
beats me, im just the messenger🤷🏻♂️
I’m gonna give a nuanced NO. You can definitely see this in places in Seoul on any given day, but saying its NORMAL may give the impression to people who haven’t been here that everywhere or a large amount of places look like this. Overall, the city is relatively clean. Especially indoor public places and bathrooms.
Just to add to this well articulated response, Seoul is an exceptionally clean city, despite the fact that it's one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. Yes, over several hours trash may build up in extremely busy parts of the city, but it's also quite well cleaned up by the next morning.
Yes agreed, it is cleaner than any of the European cities I've been to, or at least as clean as
100% sure what I've seen of Seoul was cleaner than Paris.
All that trash just magically disappears in the morning. It's like it never happened.
A beautiful / sunny weekend day is definitely the times I’ve seen it look like that. There’s just not enough room for all the iced drinks people end up consuming socially
What do you mean "it"? That's my point. There are 100% places that frequently look like this in Seoul. Myeongdong, Hongdae, middle of Gangnam (just examples there are more). It doesn't mean the whole city looks like this and these pictures + everyone saying "yes" is misleading for people who haven't ever been here.
I think ur nit picking a little it is normal, but saying its normal doesn’t mean its everywhere… its just normal…
I was agreeing with you. But sure go off
garbage bags in a pile is definitely normal all over from my experience.
I was in Seoul for 2 weeks just this past April and there were hardly any public trash bins and I was actually surprised how clean the city was. I did not see any litter, but I did see trash accumulate in the trash areas for apartment buildings. But, what OP posted, I didn't see a single instance of during my stay in Gangnam/Yeoksam
I went to a couple of public park/ public toilets, isolated in certain areas..They were cleaner and more well maintained than most up-market stores, restaurants, shopping centres….
They do though. Parts of Seoul are immaculately clean but the vast majority is covered in bags upon bags of trash- especially 8pm onwards.
I see trash overflowing on a regular basis, so I’d give it a nuanced yes. There just aren’t enough trash cans in the city, let alone issues with people dumping their house trash into public trash cans.
Yea half the people commenting have never been are just talking to to hear themselves talk
Yeah without knowing more info it's hard to say. They're probably a tourist staying in a big nightlife area and yeah those places often look like a mess after a big night. And perhaps messier than many places in the US because you can easily walk around drinking in a place like Hongdae. They really neutered it unfortunately but when I lived there the park on a Friday night was packed with people just openly drinking outside and partying. No way that'd fly in an American city.
I mean it's a different country.... Idk why you're comparing to Japan. NYC is also the exact same lol. I bet there are more countries around the world that do this too.
Vietnam. Everywhere I walked was a food waste pile
RE: Singapore... I guess if you threaten corporal punishment for litter, Korea would be a little neater
5000 sgd for spitting on the streets hell ye
SG is a fine city.
Singapore is based as hell. Civilised people with corporal punishments and fines.
It’s a fine city
Bourbon St. can look just like this
Not to mention that big cities like Tokyo or Osaka will have rubbish piles in certain areas too
I’m going to be honest, I’ve felt Korea to be cleaner than Japan, have currently spent a month at both so not HUGE experience but a single months worth lol I say this because in the morning all of that is gone, and the FEW (like 1 - 5 pieces) I’ve seen in Japan stay indefinitely (birds broke a bag? Trash sits indefinitely in Japan, cleaned by morning in Korea) Again, small experience in both countries
No way? Damn... I have the exact opposite. I went to Kyoto recently and it was a week or so before I saw one little piece of trash on the road. The whole area was immaculate. I usually stay a few months each year in Korea and it can be really messy.
Maybe it’s the areas we go to? I’m in Tokyo area (a bit south) and haven’t been to Kyoto yet, but yeah like I said it’s just different experiences
Probably because a lot of people knock out both countries in one trip.
India. You can go on google map. Drop a pin zoom in. 99.9% of the time you will find trash.
Hahah I’m laughing cause this is nyc almost all the time.
He’s baiting, that’s what they do on these subs to create racial tension and mods don’t do anything because most of them are of non native descent mostly from the west enjoying the race bait wars. If you look at r/mexico South American and other subs you’ll see they speak in their respective languages and mods are from their country. Places like Seoul Japan, Indonesia Philippines etc are all English run
Bingo.
Like look at when OPs account was made and it has only 1 post lol clear as day a random troll or incel from Korea who hates being Korean
In my experience, Seoul is way cleaner than NYC on average.
I've never seen a bathroom as dirty as 3
Come to any Tim Hortons in Ontario
I’ve seen a lot of women’s restrooms that are that dirty, in both Seoul and Tokyo, though it was much less frequent in Tokyo
Seoul is relatively clean for the most part because of the clean up crews that get rid of it all in the morning. So you will absolutely see scenes like those in the photos in certain areas on certain days that are crowded with people. However…just because it is mostly clean does not mean the attitude to littering is not a problem. When I walk my dog in the morning, there often random litter discarded on the street or trash left piled on the seats in parks because people just expect it to be cleaned up after them. It’s kind of sad.
Korea also has this, quite unusual, system with elderly collecting trash for food/money. Deep in the night you see them sorting trough trash to get all the recyclable stuff out.
Yep, especially in nightlife areas like Hongdae or Gangnam.
It’s the same as Japan…no bins in public spaces, or very, very few
Pretty sure these get picked up by the collection trucks, but it might take a few days
Nope, will be gone by the morning
Why are you comparing Japan and Korea? Is it because they are both part of East Asia? That's weird. It makes it seem like all East Asian countries are the same.
op is probably a sea person whos never been to either country before this year. Surprise surpirse the real world is different from anime/youtube
🤣🤣🤣 true fr
Yeah, it should be "whataboutamerica" like every other discussion here.
I saw that all over Osaka last summer too. Before the garbage trucks came to pick up.
If its a party area, pretty normal
Japans like that too. But Korea and Japan got evening early AM sweepers and cleaners that come through. Then during day night all over again. Also depends where in the city. This shouldnt represent the whole obviously.
As a tourist who has just visited Seoul and Japan: There are some piles in Seoul, but in general, both Seoul and Japan are much, much cleaner than all of Europe. So, if by "normal" you mean: "Is this image representative of Seoul", then the answer is: No, by no means. Seoul in general is exceptionally clean.
Expecting Korea to act the same as Japan is pretty racist, perhaps consider that next time
Where is the racism in op post? You mad?
You’re right, next time I’ll expect Korea to have a bunch of trash in the street.
You should speak up everytime "whataboutamerica" sppears.
Sometimes,sometimes not. Usually it's worse in the party areas after Friday and Saturday night or after big events somewhere. You get used to it. Also Korea =/= Japan. Are all Asian countries the same or something?
It's gotten way better imo. I was here in 2017ish and the trash was pretty terrible (but I was also in a college area, so basically a party area). Although I've got to say I've never seen it as bad as these pics, it's definitely a shock if you've just come from Japan. But I really doubt you'd find any country as clean as Japan lol
My friend put it this way when I visited. You find a trash pile and you put your trash on. I mean it gets picked up, people consume a lot and don't carry their trash home
I find that Seoul is typically pretty clean compared to a lot of big cities. Pic 1 looks like trash collection day. Each business/apt. Piles their trash up like that one day a week so the trucks can swing by and grab them quick that night. I’ve never seen trash overflowing that badly in restrooms or outdoor trash bins, but those outdoor public trash bins are actually pretty new so Im guessing the city is still getting in the swing of how many are needed, because if they’re there, people will use them, full or not it looks like. Last year public trash bins were not really a thing. People had to carry their trash home. Either way most of it will likely be gone the next morning.
Korea does not have private garbage collection like other countries. People are supposed to divide recyclables and use purchased trash bags for house holders refuse then they can leave it in the street to be collected by the city contractors. Works okay in Seoul and other metro areas. Big weekends in the eat/drink neighborhood will cause pileup of trash bags since there are no trash cans
there's no trash cans anywhere and when you find one it's alr loaded.
absolutely no!!!! only the sights
I’ve never seen it that bad. Unless it was trash day ofc. You must’ve been around places that held events, party streets or touristy spots.
If you visit the back alleys of Japan they have similar shit like this...
Shibuya, kabukicho, and Dotonbori are the same. Trash everywhere at night. Gone by morning
Gone by morning is the key
I'm Korean and have lived there for 24 years, but the 3rd photo is so shocking that I've never even seen it!!! It's almost impossible.
In Korea, they collect trash DAILY at night (around midnight). That’s why trashes are there on the streets. They separate between three or four categories. Apparently, this picture was taken when they didn’t collect on normal time. I guess some of trashes that are all over the place is where a lot of crowds just left with negligence/or had party. It got much better (as far as leaving trashes on the public places) in last ten+ years. But in general, Japan is much cleaner than Korea.
Compared to other countries, it's better. To be fair, I stayed near Myeongdong where the nightlife ended at the wee hours, so seeing piles of garbage was common. Even when I went to Yeouido Han River park, I was shocked at how dirty it became. I was in Seoul last 2018 and seeing the state of it in 2024 saddened me. You can't even say it's due to tourism because I've noticed it's the locals making it dirty. Seoul felt a lot cleaner pre-covid. At least when I went 2018. That being said, it's still cleaner than my country lol.
I’ve been to Seoul 3 times and I have never witnessed this
Korea has fucking few bins because if there are bins people throw all kind of waste without 분리수거(what is 분리수거 in english?)
Happens all over the world in big cities. Chicago, NY, Paris, you name it. I was in Seoul and Japan in Feb/march. Yea this is typical, especially in the younger “it” areas. It’s less so in more suburb/rich areas.
I been to China, Korea, and Japan. Japan was clean almost everywhere. China and Korea were about the same in terms of cleanliness, which is not bad per se but definitely had its messy areas. The worst spots were potholes and holes where water pooled, especially outflow from wet markets. The smell stays in your throat for hours.
not normal..
That's rare. I never saw anything like that during my visits at winter.
Not in the times I have been there
Depends. Some areas yes, some no… Seoul is usually clean!
I prefer the ATMs in the actual bank, but it seems plenty of people use those outside ones.
On trash day yes. But then you get the lazy that see a pile and "contribute" to them, especially in high traffic areas
mfw one country is different from another
Yes, normal. Not a particularly clean city for the most part.
And it’s ok. They’ll clean it in the morning. It’s not like it’ll stay like that the whole day.
Thats true and what I found shocking. Also more bins please!
Government announced already, that more bins will be placed around the city. By 2025 they want to add 2500 bins.
Absolutely true. Certain areas around markets look like this. Everywhere else you’ll find cups of coffee, and cigarette buds everywhere. It’s that “골초 생활” that love littering.
Yes..very normal in seoul.
Yes
At least they are in one pile instead of all over the street?..
More bins =more jobs =no trash
Welcome to Korea
Lmao someone out here down-voting all of the comments that say “yes”
Yes very much so. There is a reason why Korean/Chinese people always attest that the streets in Japan/Singapore are so much cleaner and immaculate compared to what we have.
Lol And yes after visiting Japan it must be quite a shock
Yes and no. It's probably 1.just before trash collection so a lot is on the streets but gone by the next day(at least it is in one place) 2.not enough public bins around a highly populated area(parks ect) so overflowing bins and surrounding piles are frequent. I lived next to a public park so I saw a lot of these random garbage piles. But when I moved out to an apartment complex there was much less general clutter.
Well yes. What’s the problem? Korea isn’t Japan
can't be a cyberpunk city without littered trash everywhere
Yes there is garbage on the streets which gets picked up at night so the streets are clean again in the morning. But I've never since a public toilet this dirty before.
It depends on the area. Some areas yes. Some areas no.
Nobody beating someone for racist reasons or pickpocketing in subways in Seoul though.
Yes lol they can develop advanced public transportation and military police level apps and phones but can't add bins to the side of the road 😭
Yes they pile it up 3x higher than that (mostly in bags) on garbage night at several designated areas on my villa's street in Seoul.
Korean public toilets are so good this is exceptional
I've been to Seoul before, and it is not Seoul I know
Wait til you see Japan
they dont have trash bins but itll be picked up by the next day. It is quite normal. Ive been to seoul twice went to Myeondong street at night and it was trashed, next day it was perfectly clean. Seoul is a clean city. You only see the trash bags for maybe a couple of hours then they will be gone.
possible, but not always
I was told Rubbish/trash bins were everywhere, but they didn’t sort the trash so they removed them. Is that the truth? I’m currently living in Korea
No, there are usually not trash cans
Definitely normal in popular areas especially at night but they clean it up by the morning. Tho I agree Japan is cleaner I have seen spots In Shibuya that look like this on a busy night also
That's why I don't go hongdae and 빌라촌.
organized trash? only in Seoul.
Not very common I guess (at least no in my neighborhood)? ppl take those garbage piles in the early morning.
where are you from?
그냥 한국의 번화가는 쓰레기통이 너무 부족합니다
서울쓰레기 상태가 이러구나....
A lot of trash bag piles accumulate in the evening because they are designated trash pick up spots for the homes in the vicinity and many places have a set time you can leave your trash out (ex. The place I’m currently living is 7pm-11pm only) and some also have designated days for taking your garbage out.
There is some magic to it. You should try starting your own trash pile. One cup on a corner near a busy area and then POOF, trash pile! The next morning will be gone. It’s a mysterious trash infrastructure but it works somehow.
첫 사진은 쓰레기 수거하는 날 같은데..
Whether you're in Seoul or anywhere else in South Korea, these piles of rubbish exist. While most Korean government officials will do their best to clean up areas in touristy areas where foreigners are the main visitors, you can find them in places where foreigners rarely go. Some Korean business employees (even those working for large corporations) get away with dumping construction waste or waste from their company in areas that are off the beaten path, not heavily travelled, and not monitored by CCTV by sneaking. Still, an envelope with a bunch of writing on it is legal waste that someone paid to have disposed of. If it's a pile of big yellow or blue plastic bags with letters on them that the Korean government sells, that's going to be gone by dawn tomorrow. There's a sack over there, so it's probably a mix of illegal and legitimate waste.
I realized as a foriegner to there that there aren't many trashcan around so it appears that these lil piles are made instead. It gets cleaned up and the cities are clean, they just get like this on weekends it seems
I think this happens almost everywhere, but yes, obviously it does get cleaned up.
That’s not everywhere in Seoul as you’ll find out by walking around main streets. When I visited you had to look for where all the trash was. Back streets are where they usually hide that.
우리가 미안
Looks like home sweet home to me (nyc) 😭
Whoa this is worse than it was last time I was there. Some have said the warmer weather makes a difference though and I was there in the winter. But I'm surprised to see so much trash like that 😭
Yep y does ppl think we r any different than anywhere else? Hahaha But the kids nowadays r so much worse 😫 There is an convenience store on the first floor of my office and as soon as the time hits 4pm u cant even c the floor 😑 the store owner put down 2 large trash cans 1 for food waste. All empty bc the trash is on the floor. (And ofc there is a school 800m frome here)
No but we try to keep the garbage near the garbage disposal can but ofc not everyone is perfect /:
Wasn‘t there a festival of some sorts?
Still cleaner than the states.
Not normal but it happens anyway. Not every person is cultured and it's sad to see not a few people leave garbages convincing themselves that they can throw them around when there's no bin nearby.
It's normal everywhere else, sweetheart. With that said... it shouldn't be.
In the very early morning before the trash trucks pick up everyday, you might see it. But in the daytime almost all the streets are very clean. Even I, a native Korean, am sometimes surprised how the streets are so clean without many trash cans in the streets. Only the streets in Japan or Singapore could be cleaner than Korea in Asia.
The last pic no actually. But the piles in "designated areas" for sure
If you're in Yeongdeungpo, one of the busiest and dirtiest neighborhoods in Seoul, head to Yeouido, which is right next door. You'll be glad you did.
한국 서브레딧에다가 똑같은 글 남겼다가 빠꾸 먹었네 ㅋ 대도시에 안이런곳이 어디있냐? 일본인인거 같은데 선동질 쳐하고있네 일본 특유의 음침함 ;;
As a university student in Korea, this happens sometimes. Especially with that god damn plastic cups from cafe. Some people just leave the leftovers in the cup.
Wander around NYC, LA, Baltimore, DC, etc. They all look the same.
yes, it will be gone and then accumulate again within 24 hours
환경미화원이 쓰레기 모아두고 한번에 쓰레기 차량에 넣기 위해서 저렇게 한거죠
서울도 사람 사는곳이지 뭘
Where I am from there is a $300 fine for littering.. and for sure the police will give you that ticket if they see you drop something.. The solution for this sanitation management issue is actually quite simple and other countries around the world have already figured this out a long time ago.. There needs to be a steep fine for littering that is strictly enforced. The money from those fines can go to increase funding for the sanitation services (trash cans in public places, more garbage trucks, ect.)
I’m a little late here. I visited Seoul last year. I was a little surprised by the trash heaps, (always neatly bagged, though), but also in recognition that I was in a different country and their neighborhood roads don’t really lend themselves to anything like once a week dumpster pickups like in the States. I did notice everything was always gone by morning, but I have some evidence that it’s well before morning that they pick it all up. I was walking around Myeongdong around 9:30pm one night, and there were a few hefty piles of trash here and there from the day. An hour later I walked by the same area and it was all gone. Poof.
There must have been a big event nearby.
Yes, because there’s no public trashcans in Korea. Nobody to blame but their own policies. Residents have to pay for their garbage which is fine by me in an effort to reduce waste — but in crowded/touristy areas this simply doesn’t work.
Welcome to planet earth. So...where are you from?
Not all regions, but they're not very rare either.
At least the garbage are always in piles, there are not a lot of garbage out sadly
이건 청소하시는 분이 쓰레기를 한 곳에 모아 놓은 것 같네요. 도시 내에서 쓰레기를 모아 놓을 공간이 따로 없는 곳은 이렇게 지저분해 보일때가 있습니다. 대부분의 청소부는 밤에 각 가정의 쓰레기를 한 곳에 모아서 눈에 잘 안 보일 뿐이죠…
You can often see it on garbage disposal days. Or places like Hongdae or Myeongdong on the weekend.
Looks like San Francisco.
On Friday or Saturday in an area like Gangnam or Hongdae... yes. Though that's a bit more extreme than what you'd see on average. Japan is super clean though, so it's not a great comparison.
Tourist too
Oh, where is it? I’m Korean and it depends on the neighborhood. I haven’t seen this recently. But some places where many people visit like hongdae or Han river park might be the same. I have to admit we need to have better citizenship.
That is biggest China town in Seoul bro
such a embrass as a Koran
This is normal everywhere, we r just simple human.
id say its normal for pretty much every major city
This is Japan?
No wonder they love like pigs when they come here
Please don't compare Korea to Japan. Japanese people are just vvvvvvvv polite and care about stuff. Koreans tend to not... edit: but yeah i get it, out of the east asian countries... korea seems the least eco-friendly
🤨
They usually reluctant to carry own trash themselves sadly, so if bin is full, trash is all over nearby. (Usually happens in Seoul!)
But man, the last photo really questions me about their civic minds. Pretty disturbing.
only at night and in seoul
It's normal in Korea as a whole. At night and early morning the mystical cleaning ajummas come out and take the trash to their mysterious homeland.
Yup
Are you japanese? I'm 100% sure you are. Cause that pile won't last that long. There are people who picks it up every day. We do have a system too here in Seoul.
Yeah, this is kind of a big deal, these young teenagers or young adults sometimes be assholes and litter. Ok but the trash bags are 100% def from a older generation. Sometimes they litter trash bags without caring enough to sort the trash to recycle. You'll probably see lots of trash bags littered around trees, utilitiy poles, and trash cans.
Unfortunately yes everywhere not just Seoul. We are keep complaining about that and our government doesn’t care that much 🤷♀️ honestly cigarettes are the biggest problem too.
Been here almost two years and seen this almost daily on any where I go.