“Let government and opposition lawmakers sit together”

Iceland’s parliament does not divide lawmakers into government and opposition blocs. When a four-year parliamentary term begins, members draw their seats by lot at the start of each session.

The system uses wooden balls marked with seat numbers, drawn in order from a wooden box. It began in 1915 as a way to prevent quarrels over seating and has continued for more than 110 years.

The arrangement appears to shape parliamentary behavior. Research by a Swiss university found that lawmakers may be more likely to consider the views of colleagues sitting nearby, rather than vote blindly according to party instructions.

Most parliaments, including South Korea’s, separate lawmakers by party. Viewed from the speaker’s chair, members of the Democratic Party sit on the left and People Power Party lawmakers on the right. Party leaders and veteran lawmakers sit toward the back of the chamber, creating what the article compares to a battle formation, with commanders looking down and issuing orders to those below.