For a quarter of a century, Kim Un-tae has found comfort in the red
neon cross that sits atop the steeple of the Protestant church he
founded here.
For the 70-year-old holy man, the soft glow of the religious icon has
always signified that his faith was open for anyone willing to enter
the doors of his church.
“It’s like a coastal lighthouse for passing
ships in the dark,” Kim said.
Yet critics say church crosses like Kim’s are just another form of light pollution.
Tens of thousands of churches dot South Korea, most with their own
red neon crosses.
In Seoul, where several churches crowd onto a single
block, illuminating their crosses until midnight or later, the beacons
combine to color the urban night like a carnival come to town.
“Looking from above, the night scene of Seoul looks like that of a graveyard,” one Internet user complained in a posting.
The glare of neon lights atop restaurants, motels and retail stores
has become such a blight that legislators this year passed a law to
limit what they called “excessive illumination from artificial light.”