<![CDATA[Safe cities: Seoul is 8th, Singapore is 2nd, and protest-hit Hong Kong?]>
Antte Alatalo had a surprise when he first walked around Seoul at night.
There wasn't anything to fear.
The Finnish exchange student, 23, said the experience was in contrast to European cities, which were often unnerving after dark.
"I have never felt isolated walking alone in Seoul as there are always other people strolling around in almost any part of the city, even late at night," he said, adding "I have never seen a fight breaking out since I came here."
Among Alatalo and other international visitors, Seoul's reputation as a safe city has been steadily gaining for years. The bi-yearly Safe Cities Index by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked it the eighth safest city in the world in 2019, boosting its position from 24th in 2015 and 14th in 2017.
Its performance brings it nearer to Asian contemporaries such as the Japanese metropolises of Tokyo and Osaka, ranked first and third, and Singapore, which has held the number two spot since 2015. However, its good fortunes are in stark contrast to those of Hong Kong, which slid from ninth safest in 2017 to 20th safest in the most recent study on the back of anti-government protests that have often turned violent and have been associated with two deaths.
Four major areas considered by the index are: digital security, health security, infrastructure security and the security of the individual.
Hong Kong, which has been hit by anti-government protests, has seen perceptions of its safety take a dip. Photo: Felix Wong alt=Hong Kong, which has been hit by anti-government protests, has seen perceptions of its safety take a dip. Photo: Felix Wong
While the blocking of Hong Kong's roads and transport facilities such as the airport by protesters seems to have hit the city's score for infrastructure, Hong Kong was still recognised as the third safest city in terms of personal security.
The index, which ranks a total of 60 cities, uses a scoring system that gives democratic development a similar weighting to per-capita income levels, explaining to some extent why no mainland Chinese city features in the top 30. Air pollution is also a factor cited as to why Beijing, the highest-ranked Chinese city at number 30, fared lower than many other Asian megacities.
Seoul and other developed markets also benefit from the index linking safety with both wealth and economic development.
A HEALTHY SEOUL
Seoul's reputation was burnished by its affordable health insurance and a relatively low crime rate. Its efforts to deal with rising environmental risks, ageing infrastructure and residents' concerns about crime also helped its ranking.
"Ever since our mayor, Park Won-soon, came into office, he has kept the safety of the city's residents as the top-most priority," said Kim Ki-hyun, the director of the Safety Management Division at Seoul Metropolitan Government.
"Accordingly, the Safety Management Division was created in 2015 and it now has a budget of 1.23 trillion Korean won [US$1.05 million] this year."
That is a large increase from 2017 when the division's budget was 891 billion won.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior and Safety reports that deaths in the city from "social disaster" " a category that includes both natural disasters and road accidents " decreased from 615 in 2011 to 447 in 2018.
The city is ranked third in the world in terms of health security. A national health insurance policy covers all residents, regardless of nationality or profession, while the number of people receiving health insurance from their workplace rose to 36.7 million in 2016 from 32.4 million in 2010. This means that 71.4 per cent of the total population of 51.4 million in the country receive free health coverage from work.
"Our health insurance and services are affordable and efficient, and disease control has improved much since the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015," said Kim.
The city's response to air pollution also won it credit. On days when particulate matter is high, Seoul limits the numbers of cars on the road and suspends work on construction sites.
"The education ministry is also looking into a plan to close down schools and workplaces when there are severe dust levels on consecutive days," said Kim.
Pollution in the Gwanghwamun district of Seoul. The city has gained credit with its initiatives to cut pollution by limiting the number of cars on the road. Photo: AFP alt=Pollution in the Gwanghwamun district of Seoul. The city has gained credit with its initiatives to cut pollution by limiting the number of cars on the road. Photo: AFP
One area in which Seoul has traditionally lagged its competitors is in digital security. In 2015, the city was 46 places behind its neighbour Tokyo, which ranked highest on the list for this measure. But Seoul jumped 29 places in 2019 for its work combating computer viruses and identity theft. It also won plaudits for supporting victims of sexual crime on the internet by funding businesses that help to erase leaked videos in which women were secretly filmed having sex.
"The budget for the safety departments that offer classes on victim support, digital sexual crimes and domestic violence has gone up alongside a rise in attendance," said Kang Hee-young, a researcher at the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family.
She said that 20,100 people attended such classes in universities, schools and community centres in 2019.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Still, there are plenty of areas where Seoul has room for improvement, including cutting down on the number of diesel cars on the road and addressing potentially hazardous, ageing infrastructure.
According to data provided by a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee in the legislative body, between 2013 and 2016 Seoul accounted for 2,960 out of the country's 3,625 sinkholes.
Nationwide, South Korea's roads have a poor safety record, with two deaths for every 10,000 cars, compared to 0.5 for Japan and the OECD average of 1.1.
Then, there are those in the population who feel more vulnerable than others.
In a survey by the Seoul Institute from 2014 to 2017, women perceived the city to be more dangerous than men while people residing in low-cost, small apartments were also more likely to view the city as dangerous.
Son M.Y., who attends Chung-Ang University in Seoul, said she did her best to return home to her one-bedroom apartment before nightfall.
"Even when I crave something at night, I tend to suppress my urge to visit the convenience store," said Son. "And I make sure I don't drink too much alcohol at dinner parties before returning home."
As for Alatalo, the exchange student from Finland, his only wish is that the roads were safer.
"I think the only problem I see is the motorcycle drivers who drive like it's nobody's business everywhere you go."
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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