In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings fixed on the back(prevent) clumsy owners from dropping them. This makes people look like they are married to their phones. In lots of Seoul's coffee(shop), couples on dates spend much more time looking at their screensat each other. The results go beyond the(potential) terrible consequences for romance.
Walk around the streets of Seoul, and there isreal risk of bumping into peopleeyes are glued to their smartphone screens. According to the statistics, around 370 traffic accidents annually(cause) by pedestrians using smartphones.
The government initially tried to fight the "smombie" (手机僵尸) phenomenon by distributing hundreds of stickers (贴纸) around cities,(beg) people to "be safe" and look up. This seems to have had little effect even though, in Seoul at least, it recently replaced the stickers with stronger plastic boards.
Insteadappealing to people's good sense, the authorities have therefore turned to trying to save them from being run over. Early last year, they(begin) to test floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul. Since then, the experiment has been extended around and beyond the capital. For the moment, the government is keeping old-fashioned eye-level pedestrian lights as well. But in future, the way to look at a South Korea crossroads may be down.
