A group of flight attendants walked into a Starbucks in Seoul on Monday and set down their bags, taking over nearly all the seating in the coffee shop. They ordered their drinks, picked them up and then left — without taking their belongings.

周一，一群空乘人员走进首尔的一家星巴克，放下包， 几乎占满了这家咖啡店的所有座位。 他们点好饮料，取走，然后离开了——但没有带走自己的物品。

They returned hours later and retrieved their bags, which had remained untouched.

几个小时后，他们回来取走了自己的包，这些包一直无人动过。

It was the fourth or fifth time this chain of events had occurred at the store in recent days, a Starbucks employee said. Eventually some other customers looking for a spot to sit walked out because there was no room.

一名星巴克员工说，最近几天，这种事情已经在这家店发生了四五次。 最后，其他一些想找个地方坐下的顾客因为没有空位而离开。

The commotion, minor as it was, made it to local news media on Tuesday. One report on YouTube got more than a million views, with many viewers leaving comments criticizing the airline employees for claiming space for hours without actually using it.

这场小小的骚动在周二登上了当地新闻媒体。 YouTube上的一段相关报道获得了超过100万次观看， 许多观众发表评论，批评这些航空公司员工占据座位几个小时却并不真正使用。

The comments were devoid of any concern over the safety of the bags themselves.

评论中没有流露出对包本身安全的任何担忧。

This is the culture in South Korea, where low crime rates and high surveillance rates have contributed to a sense of trust and safety in public spaces.

这就是韩国的文化， 低犯罪率和高监控率为公共空间营造了信任感和安全感。

During lunch hour on Wednesday in downtown Seoul, nearly 20 cafes had at least one table strewed with unattended items. A Gucci bag was left on a chair near the entrance of one. A black Marni purse was on top of a table that faced the window in another. Smartphones, laptops and jackets were scattered across seats in others.

周三午餐时间，在首尔市中心，近20家咖啡馆里都至少有一张桌子上散落着无人看管的物品。 在一家咖啡馆，一个古驰包被放在靠近入口的椅子上。 在另一家咖啡馆，一个黑色的Marni手提包被放在临窗的一张桌子上。 智能手机、笔记本电脑和夹克散落在其他咖啡馆的座位上。

South Korea relies heavily on video cameras to monitor public spaces. Since 2008, the nation has drastically increased the number of CCTV cameras in public places from less than 200,000 to nearly two million in 2024, according to government data.

韩国严重依赖摄像头来监控公共空间。 根据政府数据，自2008年以来，韩国公共场所的监控摄像头数量急剧增加，从不到20万个增加到2024年的近200万个。

The number of thefts has decreased by a third in the past decade, government data show, even as other problems such as cybercrimes have increased.

政府数据显示，过去十年间，盗窃案的数量减少了三分之一，尽管网络犯罪等其他问题有所增加。

Kim Lee-jung, an office worker in Seoul, said he often leaves his belongings to mark his seat when he goes to coffee shops.

首尔上班族Kim Lee-jung说，他去咖啡店时，经常把东西留在座位上占座。

"The thought of having my stuff stolen has never occurred to me," he said. "It feels natural to just leave it."

“我从来没想过我的东西会被偷，”他说。 “把它留在那儿感觉很自然。”

Like many cafes and restaurants in South Korea, Starbucks does not prohibit customers from leaving their personal belongings in their seats, but has in the past restricted the use of large items like desktop monitors and printers. Its staff has the authority to ask customers to leave if they are disturbing others. That was the case with the flight attendants, who were asked to leave because their bags were turning other customers away, according the company.

与韩国的许多咖啡馆和餐厅一样，星巴克并不禁止顾客将个人物品留在座位上， 但过去限制了台式显示器和打印机等大型物品的使用。 员工有权在顾客打扰他人时要求其离开。 据该公司称，上述空乘人员的情况就是如此，他们被要求离开，因为他们的包导致其他顾客无法入座。

"We apologize for inconveniencing Starbucks and the other customers," Asiana Airlines, which the flight attendants worked for, said in a statement. An airline spokeswoman said the flight attendants had left the cafe to attend visa interviews required for work at the nearby U.S. Embassy, where large bags are prohibited.

这些空乘人员所属的韩亚航空公司在一份声明中表示：“对于给星巴克和其他顾客带来的不便，我们表示歉意。” 该航空公司的一位发言人表示，空乘人员离开咖啡馆是为了参加附近的美国大使馆为工作所需的签证面试， 而那里禁止携带大包。

The Starbucks store in question, in Gwanghamun Square, was not very busy when a reporter visited it on Thursday morning. South Koreans may have traded a bit of privacy for increased safety, but that's why the country is incredibly safe, said Han Min Kyung, a criminology professor at Korean National Police University.

周四上午，记者到访这家位于光化门广场的星巴克门店时，店里的人并不多。 韩国国立警察大学犯罪学教授Han Min Kyung说，韩国人或许用一点隐私换来了更高的安全性，但这正是韩国极其安全的原因。

"Women can walk outside at night without having to fear major crime," she said. "I wonder in how many countries we can do that."

“女性可以在夜间出门，不用担心发生重大犯罪，”她说。 “我不知道有多少国家能做到这一点。”

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