Escort service for women is popular
Published: 10 Oct. 2013, 21:07
A fifth of the women were drunk.
The Get Home Safe service, launched in June this year by Mayor Park Won-soon, offers the help of a pair of two so-called scouts - dressed in yellow vests and wearing caps - to women who need help getting home.
To make use of the service, a woman calls the city government’s 120 Dasan Call Center or a district office. Thirty minutes later, the scouts will meet her and escort her home. The service hours are from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Currently, 15 districts in the city are running trial services of the program.
Yeongdeungpo District in western Seoul has had the most number of women calling, followed by Jongno and Gangdong districts.
The majority of the women have been high school students returning home late from cram schools or company workers working overtime.
The city reported that 2,300 women were drunk.
There are 495 scouts in the field, 350 of whom are female.
“I am proud of what I have done [over the past four months] as a Get Home Safe scout,” said Boh Young-joon, who works as a scout in Gwanak District, southern Seoul. “Many women have thanked me for what I do.”
The city government is evaluating the program and will decide whether to extend it to Seoul’s other districts.
BY KANG JIN-KYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)