Marathon Participants Cause Traffic Gridlock Due to Illegal Parking

A ridiculous situation occurred in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, where the road became paralyzed due to the indiscriminate "illegal parking" of some participants in a marathon event. Certain runners parked their vehicles in the middle of the road, causing buses and regular vehicles to be stuck for an extended period.

Recently, a post revealing the situation was shared on the automotive online community Bobaedream's Instagram, accompanied by photos from the marathon event.

According to the informant, three vehicles in question were left illegally parked on a nearby road. If the vehicles had been parked at the end or corner of the road, the situation might not have worsened to this extent, but because they were parked close to the center of the road, buses could not pass through.

As a result, a chain reaction occurred where following vehicles also became stuck, leading to congestion.

Participants' Irresponsible Attitude Adds to Citizen Inconvenience

What worsened the situation was the irresponsible attitude of the vehicle owners. The informant reported, "I called the vehicle owner, but they didn’t answer because they were running in the marathon." Citizens' anger grew at the owners' refusal to respond to calls simply because they were participating in the marathon.

In response, netizens voiced strong criticism, saying, "Selfish behavior should have its limits," "Does running a marathon excuse everything?" and "Don't they think about the inconvenience to citizens?"

There were calls for the establishment of temporary parking lots and shuttle bus operations for participants during large-scale events like marathons, as well as strong enforcement against illegal parking.

In particular, it was noted that making it difficult for buses and emergency vehicles to access the area highlights the need for pre-event education to raise participants' awareness as citizens.

Image source: Instagram 'bobaedream'