"Show Me"

One thing I have noticed in Korea (as well as Japan) is that the sidewalks are different.

Almost every street looks like this:

I didn't really wonder why, and at first figured it was a design thing. Then I thought: "Wouldn't it make sense if people walked one direction on one side, and another direction on the other?" That would seem to make pedestrian life a little easier in these crowded areas. I went on thinking that was the case for a long time, but became frustrated when I noticed that NO ONE followed that rule.

Turns out these sidewalks are this way for a whole different reason. To help the blind or visually impaired. (I'm sticking with the term blind just to make this easier to write and not sound like an overly politically correct goober).

The person simply runs their cane across the yellow markers in a sweeping pattern, and it makes a specific sound to show you are on course. It will even 'show' you where intersections are and changes texture when you should stop. (at the end of a curb, beginning of stairs, or a subway platform.) I recently saw someone doing this and thought it was the best thing ever. Where in the US do you see universal sidewalks for the blind?

In Korea you can see them on just about every main road. I find it completely intriguing that the government does this much for the blind. In the US people seem to get a cane, or even a dog to aid them. The US government wouldn't mandate that all sidewalks in a city be this way so people could get around easily. It would cost millions upon millions for what? - the small blind population? Maybe in the far distant future, or if Stevie Wonder died while trying to cross a street.

Kudos Asia.

Mabye Korea's blind population is just far greater than any other country. War, accidents, disease, malnutrition are can be seen as causes for visual impairment. But, the question must be asked. Can kimchi cause blindness? I suppose if you get some of that firey hot fermented cabbage squirted into your eyes while poking at it with chopsticks the wrong way, it could burn out your retina....