Did you know that it’s now illegal to smoke in public places, including restaurants and bars? In accordance with the revised National Health Promotion Act, which was proposed last year, the so-called “No Smoking Law” is currently being enforced. In addition, starting this year (2014), its boundaries will be expanded to include PC bangs (Internet cafes). This may be good news for those who have been suffering from cigarette smoke in public places, but will it be possible for such places to ban smoking when they’ll have so many customers with cigarettes in their hands? ST conducted an investigation near the campus to see if the No Smoking Law is being enforced properly.
ST visited a couple of PC bangs near SSU. Due to their proximity to the campus and to the fact that a lot of people are playing computer games therein, PC bangs are always crowded with customers, and most of them are smokers. Contrary to the assumption that there will still be a lot of smokers and that such establishments will thus have trouble enforcing the No Smoking Law, the air inside the PC bangs was quite pleasant, and they had few customers. ST asked the owners a couple of questions to figure out how things have changed after the enforcement of the No Smoking Law.
ST : Are your customers aware of the No Smoking Law? How are you coping with the new regulation and did it really have an impact on the number of customers?
Owner A : Our customers are quite aware of the law, and they ask us if we have a special smoking spot. Then we tell them that we’ve completely banned smoking. Unfortunately, we now have many vacant seats, compared to the past when there weren't many empty seats, and when smoking was allowed.
Owner B : They are well aware of it. We don’t allow our customers to smoke at their seats, but we
have a separate smoking room. And sadly, there was definitely a sudden decrease in the number of our customers after the enforcement of the new regulation.
ST : Was there any intensive control from the Ministry of Health and Welfare or the health center?
Owner A : Spot checks were done three times last year, but no one has come so far this year.
Owner B : They never came to us. I wonder if they’re actually implementing that law.
After the interview, ST was about to conclude that the No Smoking Law is being enforced properly, and that despite the absence of intensive control, the PC bang owners were operating the system quite well on their own. Due to the information given to us by a Soongsilian, however, it became hard for us to fully trust the results of the interviews that we conducted, which stopped us from making a hasty conclusion.
"There aren’t many customers in the mornings or early afternoons, so it seems that there aren’t many smokers as well. But in the evenings, customers flood the PC bangs, and naturally, there’s always someone who’ll smoke a cigarette. The owner or employee does not stop him or her, though, and although there’s an intensive control, nothing gets in the way as long as there’s nothing to be seen." Kim Jae-woo (Creative Writing, 13)
According to this information, the so-called “intensive control” just scratches the surface. What’s more, the self-regulating “no smoking area” isn’t as strictly enforced as the owners said in the interview. Even though it’s a brand-new policy, its execution is quite disappointing.
"As I’m a non-smoker, the No Smoking Law is good news for me, but when I think of PC bangs, the image that enters my mind immediately is that of thick, smoky air. I wonder if this law can fulfill its objective." Choi Sun-min (Business School, 10, Korea University)
"I’m a smoker myself, but I don’t like inhaling other people’s cigarette smoke. Yet, it’s bothersome to find a place to smoke and then go back to my seat while playing a game. I don’t have a bad feeling about this law, but I can’t help finding a PC bang where smoking is allowed." Choi Dong-ho (Cultural Anthropology, 09, Kangwon University)
PC bangs should not be fully blamed, however, for these two kinds of behaviors. It’s a known fact that most of the people who go to PC bangs are smokers. To attract these customers, it’s necessary for PC bang owners to turn a blind eye to their smoking. Considering the new policy, PC bangs must be completely smoke-free, but if they abide by the law, they might come to have few customers. The gap between reality and the law seems so wide, and so much still has to be done to fully and successfully enforce the No Smoking Law.
