The power of small action < Asia Economic Daily >

Column contributed by Mark Juhn / CEO of Hyundai Corporation

There is one TV commercial; the first scene shows an ambulance appearing in a
crowded street at a business district and having trouble in making way because of illegally parked vehicles along the road. The second scene presents a full shot of the ambulance men desperately waiting for the road being cleared way.

The third, the ambulance managed to get out of the crowded street and finally arrived at the hospital. Lastly, the scene of the patient and the doctor being relieved and having conversation together is followed.

And the caption goes “ If we were 15 minutes late, …”

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This is a Japanese public campaign ad on the parking violation produced by a Japanese Organization of Public Campaign Advertisement.

I personally hope that more often I could spot this kind of ad on TV in Korea, which I could not in reality. It might blow it out of proportion, if I say this, but I could not help feeling that the recent public campaign ads from the government and public sectors are made to aim at the extravagant publicity effect.

In those developed countries where they have even more vehicles than we do, the traffic disorder due to the illegal parking is unlikely to happen in both residential and downtown areas.

Also it is not common in those countries to watch the ugly scenes such as people haggling over the parking place or the ambulance got stuck in the street carrying a patient, as we often see in Korea.

Maybe it is because in those countries the authorities dealing with parking regulations are taking strong measures to prevent parking violation but more importantly, I think, it is because of their citizen’s voluntary action for keeping public order. This shows a small practice like observation of the parking regulations could bea stepping-stone of making a pleasant automobile culture.

Last week, there was an announcement from the student body of Seoul National University that they decided to secede from Han Chong Ryun (Korea University’s Association). I regarded this as the end of era that those big words “ Democracy, National Independence, Nation,” and overconsciousness on ideology are declined, and our society is shifting.

We have too much focused on big things. Everyone paid their attention only on big stuff while little things were overlooked.
It is true we needed these attitudes at the time but now it is different.

What we need now is a thorough action, not those extravagant catchphrases. I like to point out once we take up an attitude of observing a little thing like parking regulations we are able to accomplish big things.