Once a smokers' haven, S Korea becoming one big 'no-smoking' zone

Today, South Korea is no longer a smokers' haven. The social environment of smoking has changed so much over the years, and smokers like Choi too often find themselves unwelcome almost everywhere in the country.

Such changes have come rather slowly as if those enforcing them were careful enough not to alert those who might oppose them, namely, smokers.

"I've really had no problem with any new laws or regulations on smoking, but it feels like they have changed it bit by bit and now they add up so much," Choi said in an interview.
Choi complains that he can't even smoke from the window of his own apartment anymore because his neighbors next door or upstairs will complain about smoke coming in through their windows.

"I do understand people who do not smoke do not like to be around people who do, but that does not mean those who smoke must suffer," he fumed. "Smoking certainly is not a crime." South Korea's smoking rate for people aged 19 or older stood at 39.6 percent last year, down from 43.1 percent a year earlier but still way above the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member nations, which recorded 27.3 per cent in 2008.

South Korea hopes to bring its smoking rate down to the OECD level within the coming years.Smokers in big cities like the capital Seoul face more difficulty in finding places to enjoy smoking.

Under its latest ordinance set to go into effect on March 1, the Seoul city government has designated 23 new public parks and 295 bus stops where smoking will be banned.