South Korean Train Station's Sign To 'Encourage' Commuters To Take The Stairs Goes Viral
The 'chubbier' man icon had an arrow pointing towards the escalator.
By Tamara Jayne — 06 Nov 2023, 03:22 PM
A sign at Sangbong subway station in Seoul, South Korea has been gaining lots of attention recently
Digital content creator @dailydoseof.korean, also known as Alo, shared a video of a sign that's supposedly stuck on the floor of the subway station showing two big stickers of men.
One image shows a slightly 'chubbier' man with an arrow that points towards the escalator, while the other man, a typical 'skinnier' version, has an arrow next to it that points towards the staircase.
He captioned the video with "Korea is so mean" while using the popular 'Gwenchana' sound clip by @imranbard, as he recorded himself walking past the floor signs.
"Instead of using the escalator, it is encouraging people to take the stairs for their daily workout," he told SAYS when contacted.
The video, which has amassed over 11.7 million views on TikTok and 15 million views on Instagram, led to playful comparisons, with some humorously likening the chubby man icon to 'Baymax,' the endearing character from the 2022 film Big Hero 6
Others offered their own interpretations of the sign, with some suggesting that it encourages people to prioritise their health
Not everyone took it that well though:
In 2015, an image of the same sign went viral on Reddit, which prompted one person to explain what it could potentially mean:
