Preventing arguments over noise with neighbors

One of the biggest causes of disputes between neighbors is noise between upper and lower floors. While most households prevent conflicts through exercise of patience and caution, a number of incidents has seen people retaliate against neighbors by installing loudspeakers on their ceilings or stuffing drain pipes to cause sewage water to flow back into their neighbors`s homes. Recently, a few have even attacked their neighbors with knives or even set their neighbors’ homes on fire as revenge. While one might wonder how someone can do such horrible things, it is also understandable that they did out of excessive stress. Even the most patient person would find it difficult to endure noise from neighbors if his or her children complain that they are disturbed by the noise while studying.

According to a recent study by the Environment Ministry, 73 percent of complaints about noise from neighbors homes involved children running or people walking noisily, followed by noise from laundry or cleaning machines and flushing toilets, dragging furniture or playing musical instruments. So certain construction companies build spaces where children can play freely. This month, the government introduced new rules that lowered the standard noise level between floors from 40 decibels by day to 35 at night. Builders must also construct apartment buildings by making the floors at least 210 millimeters thick and using complex technological standards. Newly built apartments are required to abide by the new law. The problem lies with apartments where people have been living for years. Realistically, reinforcing buildings with noise-proof materials is tough. The best way is to exercise caution and self-restraint.

Noise might trigger disputes but what escalates them is a war of self-esteem. So third-party mediation is required. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced seven measures to resolve disputes over noise between floors Wednesday leaning toward resolving disputes rather than fixing apartment structures. Other municipal and provincial governments have introduced similar measures.

I have both inflicted inter-floor noise and been victimized by it. The best way to resolve the conflict was to offer a watermelon. When I was a victim, I offered a watermelon to my upstairs neighbor and cordially asked for less noise. When I was the culprit, I also visited my victim with a watermelon in one hand, and asked for their understanding of the inevitable noise made despite my best efforts to prevent it. By doing so, I could avoid yelling at my neighbors. The will to communicate is better than doing nothing. Though this column is titled “How to prevent noise between floors,” I know doing so is not as easy as it sounds. But resoling disputes over inter-floor noise is possible. My best advice is to make the other side sorry rather than angry.

Editorial Writer Heo Seung-ho (tigera@donga.com)