VOA文化艺术2024--Traditional Seoul Village Hopes Curfew Brings Back Normal Life

In South Korea's capital of Seoul, Bukchon Hanok Village's narrow winding¹ alleyways date back hundreds of years to the Joseon Dynasty. The area has become a popular place to visit, especially after appearing in a television show about 10 years ago.

Foreign visitors and Koreans visit the neighborhood to see houses with wood columns, courtyards and tiled roofs.

The area attracted about 6 million visitors last year while the population of the area is around 6,100.

However, increasing numbers of visitors have become a problem for people who live there. They complain about noise, trash, bad behavior and invasion of privacy.

Some visitors have been caught on camera trying to enter private homes or looking inside without permission, creating conflict with locals.

Many local people have chosen to leave, leading to a 27.6 percent drop in the village's population over the past 10 years.

Village officials now want to set a curfew in the area. The curfew will limit visitors to certain areas of Bukchon from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. local time. It will start as a trial in November and will be officially launched next March. Violators could pay fines of up to $72.

Chung Moon-hun is the head of Jongno district. Chung said the goal is to protect the rights of local people. Chung said the curfew can be changed if necessary to make it more effective. The area where curfew hours and fines will be in effect is about 34,000 square meters. That is about the size of five soccer fields.

Kwon Young-doo owns the private Asian Cultural Art Museum in Bukchon Hanok Village. Kwon is concerned about the curfew policy aimed at preventing visitors from overrunning the area.

"Who would want to visit?" asked Kwon who moved into the historic area 18 years ago. "They'll leave with a bad impression of South Korea."

Others do not believe the policy will be effective. They note measures such as exemptions³ for visitors staying overnight in traditional houses called hanok. Many of these hanok are now owned by businesses after officials loosened restrictions⁴ on overnight stays.

"People come for just a day to enjoy themselves, and the noise from parties is extremely loud," said Kim Eun-mee, who lives next to a hanok. Clearing trash in front of her home has become a task she has to perform several times a day.

"It's often difficult to maintain a normal daily routine due to disturbances⁶." She said people often make noise moving their suitcases around even in the early hours, which wakes her up.

Lee Dong-woo is head of the website BUTLER.LEE which is used to rent the hanoks. Lee said the business grew when owners who found it difficult to modernize⁷ or maintain old houses turned them over to businesses.

"These requests are driving the expansion, not because we are actively⁸ evicting¹⁰ current residents to operate hanok stays," Lee said. Lee oversees¹¹ 17 hanok stays in Bukchon.

Visitors are divided over the curfew. Some agree locals' quality of life is important. Others are unhappy at the idea of getting fined for simply walking down a public street.

There are also questions about how the rules will be enforced; how to tell visitors from locals; how to make foreigners pay a fine, and how to deal with the language barrier.

Words in This Story

dynasty -n. a group of associated rulers who govern a country for a long time

column -n. a circular or square support for a building

courtyard -n. an open area surrounded by buildings

roof -n. the top of a house that protects the inside from rain and sun

trash -n. waste and unwanted materials

trial -n. a test

exemption² -n. freedom from having to observe a rule that everyone else must follow

routine -n. something that is done regularly as a normal part of a day or week

disturbance⁵ -n. a happening that is loud, surprising or that causes people to change what they would normally do

evict⁹ -v. to remove someone from where they normally stay or live

 

•  

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

3 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

6 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

7 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

9 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

10 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网

11 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网