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Meanwhile : Please pull!

Published: 01 Apr. 2026, 00:05

Choi Hoon

The author is a professor at Hallym University.

A sign posted at the entrance of a building catches the eye, pleading with visitors: “Please pull!” A closer look reveals that pushing the door causes it to scrape along the floor and cause damage. Yet despite the urgent instruction, the door is already worn and frayed.

A customer uses a kiosk at a food court in a Seoul shopping mall on March 27, 2025. [NEWS1]

Photos of such doors frequently circulate online, often accompanied by comments such as “Koreans always go straight ahead” or “What word do Koreans fail to read most? ‘Pull.’” In a country known for extremely low illiteracy and strong respect for rules, why is the instruction “pull” so thoroughly ignored?

From a psychological perspective, the issue looks different. Pulling a door open is not as simple as it seems. People are accustomed to applying force in the direction they are already moving. Actions have purposes, and individuals tend to think and exert effort in ways that are most efficient for achieving those purposes. Pulling a door, by contrast, runs counter to one’s momentum and thus feels unnatural.

In the field of cognitive engineering, which combines psychology and design, the concept of “affordance” is central. Good design should guide users toward the most appropriate action. If a device or system is difficult to use, the fault lies not with the user but with the design. The problem, then, is not that people ignore the word “pull,” but that the door is designed in a way that requires them to pull it open.

In Korea’s fast-changing and highly dynamic society, adaptation is often treated as the sole responsibility of users. Faced with unfamiliar kiosks, people may feel compelled to blame themselves for failing to keep up with the times. But can this really be their fault? The benefits of such technologies do not accrue primarily to users, yet the burden of adaptation falls almost entirely on them. In the age of AI, where change has become routine, the responsibility for adapting to new systems should be shared.

Designers and policymakers alike must consider how systems are experienced in everyday life. Interfaces that rely on written instructions alone risk failure when they conflict with natural human tendencies. Clear visual cues, intuitive layouts, and consistent patterns can reduce errors without placing additional cognitive demands on users.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.