6-2-2024 (SINGAPORE) A Singaporean woman had a distressing encounter while disposing of her garbage in South Korea when an elderly man allegedly slammed a bin lid on her hand for using the wrong bin. The incident occurred at a market in Seoul, and the woman, Shovess Neo, 21, took to Instagram on January 17 to share a video of the encounter.
In the video, Neo explained that the uncle intentionally slammed the lid of the bin she was using to dispose of her trash, as a way of informing her that it was not allowed. Visibly shaken and in tears, Neo showed the bruise on her hand resulting from the incident. She described the pain as excruciating and mentioned that her hand remained red for about 15 minutes afterward.
Not only did the man reprimand her, but he also retrieved the item she had thrown into the bin and threw it on the ground. Feeling scared, confused, and wronged, Neo expressed her bewilderment at his actions. She told Shin Min Daily News, “I didn’t understand why he did this.”
According to Neo, she had disposed of the item in the market’s bin because it was the only one available, and she claimed that there were no labels indicating that rubbish disposal was prohibited. She decided not to confront the man to avoid further conflict and chose to leave the scene.
Neo’s eight-second video has since gone viral, amassing approximately 14.5 million views and 317,000 likes. Many online sympathized with Neo and expressed their support for her, criticizing the man’s behavior. Some commented that he could have conveyed his message politely instead of resorting to such aggression.
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However, there were others who pointed out that Neo should have familiarized herself with South Korea’s strict trash disposal rules. According to commenters and online sources, residents in South Korea are required to purchase government-issued garbage bags and categorize their rubbish before collection.
In response to these comments, Neo acknowledged her lack of awareness regarding the specific trash disposal measures in South Korea. Nevertheless, she maintained that the man’s behavior was unjustifiable. Neo stated, “If he had told me nicely, I would have taken my trash out, apologized, and perhaps engaged in a conversation to gain insights about the trash system culture in their country.”
A local Instagram user clarified that the garbage sorting system only applies to residential areas and not marketplaces.
When asked to disclose the name of the market, Neo declined, stating that she shared her experience to raise awareness and did not wish to attribute the man’s actions to the entire community.
