When we were moving our school to the new floor I found out something interesting. Our building has a parking lot on the roof. A special car elevator brings your car up. There are about 12 spaces for cars to park. There is even a handicapped parking spot. Yet none of my co-workers, or anyone else in the building, uses them.
When asked why this was so I was given a brief history of building regulations in South Korea. Basically the new buildings MUST all having parking. Whether it is underground, ground level, or on the roof. The underground spots are the most expensive to make. Many new buildings have a ground level parking lot and the offices/shops start on the second floor. (I always wondered why the hell they made buildings like that. A lot of the restaurants have parking on the 1st level.) Some put it on the roof.
Those who put it on the roof usually do this to circumvent the law. They put it in place but never allow it to be used. Whether, like our building owner, they say the elevator broke down and never fix it. (They never actually used it, the owner just said it didn't work from day 1.) Or they say the cars cracked the building a bit so it is unsafe. Evidently the government never checks to see if these claims are false or not. So, Koreans just ignore the law.
Am I surprised? Hell no.
Korean architecture scares me... I don't trust the buildings not to simply fall down.
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling.
ReplyDelete