Do you know the Korean proverb "Near neighbor is better than a distant cousin"? As the saying goes, we have long regarded 'neighborhood' as important as blood ties. But our appearance one day makes us feel that proverbs are just old words. According to a 2021 neighbor noise survey conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, 88% of the respondents said they had been stressed by neighbor noise. This noise goes beyond simply causing inconvenience to the neighborhood and threatens the neighbor with a weapon. It also has disastrous consequences that lead to murder as well as retaliation and quarrels.

Over the past two years, COVID-19 has increased the time at home, such as working at home, online classes, and the early closing of restaurants, which has led to an increase in noise from neighbors. Our school couldn't avoid this problem either. The following posts are often posted on our school's Everytime app. Everyone may have seen our school students complaining while living in dormitories, such as "The 0th floor of 00 Building is too noisy" and "What floor is the screaming floor of 00 Building?". It can be seen that this is not only a big social issue but also is closely related to our daily lives. Neighbors have to share their affection, but they often face each other in anger. Are there any legal measures or solutions to noise from neighbors?
 

Noise from neighbors in Korea
First, let's look at the standard of noise from neighbors. In the case of direct impact noise, it is *the equivalent noise level for one minute during the day (6:00-22:00), the equivalent noise level for one minute is 39 dB, maximum noise is 57 dB or more. And the equivalent noise level for one minute at night (22:00-6:00), and maximum noise is 52 dB or more. In the case of air transmission noise, noise from neighbors is defined when the equivalent noise exceeds 45 dB during the day and 40 dB at night for 5 minutes. (*the equivalent noise level: a classification of the mark of the noise)

Then, what is the reality of noise from neighbors in Korea?

If you look at the complaints related to noise from neighbors at the Environment Ministry's Neighborhood Center, it has been increasing significantly since 2019. This is not limited to complaints, but crimes caused by noise from neighbors are increasing, and it is often seen
in the news. In August 2022, a man in his 40s who assaulted an upstairs neighbor over noise was sentenced to a fine of 15 million won for a charge of injuring and breaking into a house. Outside of that, there are numerous cases such as "In Incheon, a man in his 40s was given a sentence of 22 years in prison for attempted murder in the first trial," and "a pastor in his 60s who assaulted a pregnant woman due to noise from neighbors"

According to the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, "The noise problem from neighbors is becoming serious as it has led to various incidents, with 7 murders between neighbors and 27 attempted murders and assault cases in 2019."

The cause of noise from neighbors that creates such a harsh reality can be divided into structural and practical problems. First of all, it's a structural problem. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, of the more than 500 apartments nationwide built for 10 years from 2007, 98.5% are wall-style. However, the wall-type structure in which the wall supports the upper layer without pillars is more vulnerable to interlayer noise than the column- type structure in which the pillars support the upper layer.

Nevertheless, construction companies prefer wall-style structures to build apartments quickly and
cheaply. The second is the cause of noise in terms of practical problems. As a result of analyzing on-site diagnosis cases from 2012 to 2020, the Inter-floor Noise Neighborhood Center analyzed that the largest proportion of inter-floor noise is the sound of running or walking. Next, there is the sound of hammering and the sound of pulling furniture, etc. It has been a long time since noise from neighbors became an issue in our society.

But why is the noise problem from neighbors getting bigger rather than disappearing? The biggest problem is that the noiseproblem from neighbors was dismissed as a conflict- level between neighbors or individual problem, the fundamental problem was not solved, and an accurate and reliable solution was not prepared. An amicable agreement is needed to resolve this individually, but most perpetrators often deny or protest their wrongdoings. So you can see a lot of posts on the Internet saying that the upper house or the perpetrator is uncooperative.
 

The Apartment Housing Management Act stipulates that "the government should try not to damage other tenants due to noise between floors in apartments," but there are no penalties such as fines. Of course, it is not without legislation to punish noise from neighbors. According to Article 3 of the Misdemeanor Punishment Act, a person who makes a noise by making too loud sounds, making loud noises, or singing loudly can be punished with a fine of up to 100,000 won, detention, or
fines. However, it is a difficult structure in which noise from neighbors caused by living leads to punishment because not only intentionality must be recognized, but also the exact degree and source of noise must be proved.

If the noise problem persists, it is possible to apply for mediation with the Multi-Family Housing Management Dispute Mediation Committee, but it is less effective because the procedure is complicated and not compulsory. The nation's 147 dispute settlement committees were in charge of only 35 arbitrations over the five-year period, and even only seven were successfully reconciled.

Stories of noise from neighbors resolution in other countries

Next, I would like to introduce a successful foreign solution that we did not know. First, Australia is a case where mediation services are systematically established. In 1990, the Dispute Resolution Act was passed to provide neighboring dispute settlement services through a dispute settlement center so that citizens can easily access the dispute settlement process. It also provides conflict coaching online services. It provides information search tools to help people search for legal information or various solution options when problems arise. It helps you to judge for yourself by asking questions such as what kind of problem it is, what to say, and where to find  what information. The second is the case in Singapore.

With a total of 160 mediators operating throughout Singapore, the CMC(the Community Mediation Center) mainly deals with conflicts between neighbors or families. In the 20 years since its establishment, a total of 8,000 conflicts have been reconciled, and 75 percent have been found to have been successfully resolved. Singapore, which has many multi-family houses, was not much different from Korea's neighborhood conflict issue. However, the solution method was different from that of Korean society, such as encouraging courts and police stations to go through an alternative dispute resolution process before going to the lawsuit, and individuals actively
visiting the CMC to ask for help in conflict mediation. Foreign countries are also experiencing similar problems as Korea, and they can also be seen trying to find solutions. Our efforts to resolve noise from neighbors Finally, let's look at the policies currently being implemented by Korea to resolve noise from neighbors.

First, the 'inter-floor noise post-confirmation system' was introduced and implemented. This is a policy to check the noise - blocking performance between floors before obtaining permission for use after the apartment is built in July 2022. The second is agovernment-run noise neighborhood center. Through counseling, noise measurement and analysis services are provided to adjust noise conflicts from neighbors.

The third is restorative police work. According to the National Police Agency, the coordination rate of cases that conducted ‘recovery conversation’ activities from January to July 2022 reached 92%, and if the perpetrator and the victim agree, they will set up a place to recover from damage and prevent a recurrence. In the future, more socially certain policies will be needed to resolve noise between floors. But the best solution to the noise problem between floors is noise prevention. They understand each other that some noise is bound to occur, but efforts are needed to solve it. There is a way to use tools that can reduce noise by paying attention to loud sounds. In addition, it is recommended to inform your neighbors in advance and ask for their understanding if interior work or moving is imminent. Keeping these basic things will reduce much of the discord between neighbors.

Then how about our school dormitory? To solve the noise between the walls of our school dormitory, it is important to practice the basic things first. You can practice it without difficulty, such as not talking loudly until late at night in the room, not listening to music
loudly or singing loudly, not screaming in the hallway, or entering the room quietly without making a fuss when you come in late after drinking. We hope to become mature Korea National University of Education students without forgetting to care for each other.