City's 'warm bottom' benches certified as first-of-its-kind domestic innovation at government ceremony

Now installed at 98% of bus stops across Seoul, up from 68 pilot seats in 2009

A heated seat installed at a bus stop in Seoul. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A heated seat installed at a bus stop in Seoul. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

As the season turns to winter and temperatures continue to drop, waiting for a bus in the cold can be a miserable experience. A heated seat at the bus stop offers at least a brief reprieve.

Seoul's heated bus-stop seats — colloquially known as "eongtteu," or "warm bottom" — have been certified as a first-of-its-kind domestic innovation under the government's innovation recognition program. The city introduced the seats in 2009, becoming the first in the country to do so.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that the heated bus-stop seat program received a first-of-its-kind domestic innovation plaque at the fifth Government Innovation Firsts and Bests Award Ceremony, held Friday.

The Government Innovation Firsts and Bests competition is jointly organized by the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Korea Institute of Public Administration. Launched in 2023, it aims to identify and promote innovative public-service initiatives that improve citizen convenience and safety.

The heated seats were introduced to ease the discomfort of waiting for buses in winter. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon first ordered improvements to winter bus-waiting conditions in 2009, as part of a "creative city administration" initiative he was championing at the time. The idea originated with a citizen who drew inspiration from ondol, the traditional Korean underfloor heating system.

The seats maintain a temperature of around 32 degrees Celsius or above at all times. After a pilot installation of 68 seats in 2009, the program has expanded to 4,992 seats across Seoul as of this year — covering about 98 percent of all bus stops in the city.

Last year, the city was also recognized under the same program for two other initiatives: a medication-instruction labeling system for prescription bags and a public funeral service for unclaimed deceased residents.


ken@heraldcorp.com