[Report] "Packing pants and wearing boots instead of shoes"... Yeouido commuting war

[Financial News] #. Kim, who lives in Songdo, Incheon (35), took the M6751 express bus at 5:30 a.m., 30 minutes earlier than usual on the 17th. Unlike usual, he wore boots instead of shoes and packed extra pants because his clothes and shoes were soaked from the heavy rain the day before. Kim said, "My company is in Yongsan-gu, so I have to transfer buses at Exit 6 of Yeouido Station, but sometimes the interval between buses exceeds 10 minutes, so I came out early to avoid being late," and added, "I hope I can get to work safely."
On this day, a heavy rain warning was issued throughout Seoul in the morning, and many workers experienced confusion as a lot of rain fell overnight. Many office workers near Yeouido went to work with wet clothes despite using umbrellas. Citizens who set out on their commute earlier than usual faced difficulties using public transportation, tapping their feet anxiously.
Office workers met in the Yeouido area complained about the inconvenience as bus operations were delayed due to roads being submerged in several places. Park, who commutes from Mapo-gu to Yeouido (37), said, "Usually, when the sign says 'arriving soon,' the bus comes within 2 minutes, but today it didn't come for over 5 minutes, so I thought I would be late," and explained, "I have to be at work by 7 o'clock, but I came out without much worry, and the bus didn't come until 6:30, so my hands were sweating."

Those who used the subway were in the same situation. Kim, a resident of Seocho-gu, met at Yeouido Station on Seoul Subway Lines 5 and 9, said, "The line was longer than usual, so I barely got on after letting two trains go," and added, "As time went by, the number of passengers in the train increased, and I was pushed out."
There were also office workers who set out on their commute earlier than usual. Lim, who lives in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do (28), said, "If it usually takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the company, today it took 1 hour and 30 minutes just to get to the Yeouido Transfer Center stop on bus 533." He added, "Even though I left 30 minutes earlier than usual, the arrival time seems to be about the same," and said, "Next time, I should come out even earlier."
Due to the rain filling the sidewalks to the point where water was splashing, many office workers went to work wearing shorts or boots. Lee, who was walking with an umbrella large enough for two people (31), said, "Even though I walked carefully on the way home yesterday, water got into my shoes, and my pants were soaked in 5 minutes, so I felt uncomfortable all the way home," and added, "Today, wearing shorts is better, but even with boots, water fills my shoes, making it uncomfortable."
However, as people were dispersed between buses and subways, the area around bus stops and subway station entrances was relatively not chaotic. Lee, who usually commutes by subway (28), said, "On days when it rains or snows and a lot of people crowd the subway, a line over 7-8 meters long forms around Exit 5 of Yeouido Station at about 8 a.m.," and added, "Today, it wasn't like that."
jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon reporter