The pole is to prevent people from taking carts and similar objects up and potentially causing an accident
Though it does have unintended consequences
Not necessarily carts like the ones you see in shopping malls, but it’s also for things that would not be safe on the escalators like:
- Baby carts (forgot the proper name for them)
- Large carrier bags
- Those cart-like bags elderly people usually carry around that doubles as a walking assistant
Accidentally letting them go would be dangerous.
Stroller is the word you were looking for for baby cart. I hate when I can’t think of a word, it pisses me off until I look it up or somehow remember and I can’t focus on anything else.
I’ve seen these sorts of things at subway exits/entrances in airports, where you have carts for moving lots of bags at once. There might also be shops nearby with shopping carts that people have tried to take on the escalator in the past.
I’m not Korean(perhaps someone familiar with the place might be able to offer more insight), just offering some possibilities, but it’s difficult to know without more context.
