Day 87: Free Subway Rides at Sixty-Five

Dialogue

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1. 1

   A 실례지만, 방금 전화로 지하철 요금 얘기하시는 걸 들었어요. 또 오른다면서요?

   Sillyejiman, banggeum jeonhwaro jihacheol yogeum yaegihasineun geol deureosseoyo. Tto oreundamyeonseoyo?

   Excuse me, but I overheard you talking about the subway fare on the phone just now. It's going up again, is it?

   Line 1
2. 2

   B 아, 네. 들리셨어요? 죄송해요. 다음 달부터 백오십 원이 오른대요. 저 같은 서민한테는 이게 은근히 커요.

   A, ne. Deullisyeosseoyo? Joesonghaeyo. Daeum dalbuteo baegosip woni oreundaeyo. Jeo gateun seominhanteneun ige eungeunhi keoyo.

   Oh, yes. You heard that? Sorry. It's going up by 150 won next month. For ordinary people like me, that adds up.

   Line 2
3. 3

   A 사실 못 들은 척하려다가 말을 거는 거예요. 저는 그 요금을 안 내거든요. 예순다섯이 넘어서 요금이 면제돼요.

   Sasil mot deureun cheokaryeodaga mareul geoneun geoyeyo. Jeoneun geu yogeumeul an naegeodeunyo. Yesundaseosi neomeoseo yogeumi myeonjedwaeyo.

   Actually, I was going to pretend I hadn't heard, but I'm speaking up. You see, I don't pay that fare. I'm over sixty-five, so I ride for free.

   Line 3
4. 4

   B 아, 그렇군요. 경로 우대 말씀하시는 거죠?

   A, geureokunyo. Gyeongno udae malsseumhasineun geojyo?

   Oh, I see. You mean the seniors' pass?

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5. 5

   A 네. 그래서 젊은 사람들이 요금 올랐다고 하면 괜히 미안해지더라고요.

   Ne. Geuraeseo jeolmeun saramdeuri yogeum ollatdago hamyeon gwaenhi mianhaejideoragoyo.

   Yes. So whenever young people say the fare went up, I somehow feel guilty.

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6. 6

   B 어르신이 미안해하실 일은 아니죠. 평생 세금 내셨잖아요.

   Eoreusini mianhaehasil ireun anijyo. Pyeongsaeng segeum naesyeotjanayo.

   You've got nothing to feel sorry about. You've paid taxes your whole life.

   Line 6
7. 7

   A 그렇게 말해 줘서 고마워요. 그런데 뉴스를 보니 지하철 적자의 상당 부분이 무료 승차 때문이라더군요.

   Geureoke malhae jwoseo gomawoyo. Geureonde nyuseureul boni jihacheol jeokjaui sangdang bubuni muryo seungcha ttaemuniradeogunyo.

   Thank you for saying so. But according to the news, a good part of the subway's deficit comes from free rides.

   Line 7
8. 8

   B 저도 그 기사 봤어요. 노인 인구는 계속 늘어나는데 비용은 지자체가 사실상 다 떠안는 구조래요.

   Jeodo geu gisa bwasseoyo. Noin inguneun gyesok neureonaneunde biyongeun jijachega sasilsang da tteoanneun gujoraeyo.

   I saw that article too. The elderly population keeps growing, but the city ends up covering practically all the cost.

   Line 8
9. 9

   A 제가 처음 서울에 올라왔을 때는 매표소에서 종이 승차권을 사곤 했어요. 그때는 노인이 이렇게 많아질 줄 아무도 몰랐죠.

   Jega cheoeum Seoure ollawasseul ttaeneun maepyosoeseo jongi seungchagwoneul sagon haesseoyo. Geuttaeneun noini ireoke manajil jul amudo mollatjyo.

   When I first came up to Seoul, I used to buy paper tickets at the ticket booth. Back then, nobody imagined there'd be this many old people.

   Line 9
10. 10

    B 그럼 어르신은 나이 기준을 올리는 것에 대해 어떻게 생각하세요? 일흔으로 올리자는 얘기도 있던데요.

    Geureom eoreusineun nai gijuneul ollineun geose daehae eotteoke saenggakaseyo? Ilheuneuro ollijaneun yaegido itdeondeyo.

    So what do you think about raising the age limit? There's been talk of raising it to seventy.

    Line 10
11. 11

    A 솔직히 저는 찬성하는 쪽이에요. 요즘 예순다섯은 노인 축에도 못 끼잖아요. 저만 해도 정년퇴직하고 나서 지금까지 아파트 경비 일을 하고 있고요.

    Soljiki jeoneun chanseonghaneun jjogieyo. Yojeum yesundaseoseun noin chugedo mot kkijanayo. Jeoman haedo jeongnyeontoejikago naseo jigeumkkaji apateu gyeongbi ireul hago itgoyo.

    Honestly, I'm for it. These days sixty-five hardly counts as old. Take me: I retired from my job, and I'm still working as a security guard at an apartment complex.

    Line 11
12. 12

    B 의외네요. 그런데 연금도 없이 폐지 줍는 어르신들한테는 큰 부담이 될 수도 있잖아요.

    Uioeneyo. Geureonde yeongeumdo eopsi pyeji jumneun eoreusindeulhanteneun keun budami doel sudo itjanayo.

    That's surprising. But for elderly people with no pension who get by collecting scrap paper, it could be a real burden.

    Line 12
13. 13

    A 그 말도 맞아요. 그러니까 나이만 보지 말고 소득에 따라 정하는 게 더 공평하지 않을까요?

    Geu maldo majayo. Geureonikka naiman boji malgo sodeuge ttara jeonghaneun ge deo gongpyeonghaji aneulkkayo?

    That's true too. So wouldn't it be fairer to go by income rather than just age?

    Line 13
14. 14

    B 그러면 소득을 일일이 확인해야 해서 행정 비용이 늘어난다고 반대하는 사람도 있어요.

    Geureomyeon sodeugeul illiri hwaginhaeya haeseo haengjeong biyongi neureonandago bandaehaneun saramdo isseoyo.

    Some people are against that, though, because checking everyone's income would push up administrative costs.

    Line 14
15. 15

    A 하긴, 어느 쪽이든 누군가는 손해를 보는 셈이네요. 젊은 사람들 요금만 계속 올리는 건 답이 아닌 것 같고요.

    Hagin, eoneu jjogideun nugunganeun sonhaereul boneun semineyo. Jeolmeun saramdeul yogeumman gyesok ollineun geon dabi anin geot gatgoyo.

    True, either way someone loses out. But just raising young people's fares again and again doesn't seem like the answer.

    Line 15
16. 16

    B 사실 좀 놀랐어요. 당연히 무료가 좋다고 하실 줄 알았거든요.

    Sasil jom nollasseoyo. Dangyeonhi muryoga jotago hasil jul aratgeodeunyo.

    I'm actually a bit surprised. I assumed you'd naturally say free rides are good.

    Line 16
17. 17

    A 공짜로 타면서 미안한 척만 하는 것보다는 이렇게 얘기라도 나누는 게 낫지요. 아, 저는 다음 역에서 내려요.

    Gongjjaro tamyeonseo mianhan cheongman haneun geotbodaneun ireoke yaegirado nanuneun ge natjiyo. A, jeoneun daeum yeogeseo naeryeoyo.

    Better to talk it over like this than to ride for free and just act sorry. Oh, I get off at the next stop.

    Line 17
18. 18

    B 조심히 가세요. 덕분에 출근길이 덜 억울하네요.

    Josimhi gaseyo. Deokbune chulgeungiri deol eogulhaneyo.

    Take care. Thanks to you, my commute feels a little less unfair.

    Line 18