Public Transportation Within Korea

The first thing that surprised me when I first came to Seoul was the amount of people that were all packed into the city.

The second thing that I noticed was the amount of people that relied on public transportation as their main way to get around Seoul.

The third thing that I thought was cool and easy was the T-Money cards that we have used throughout the program as easy tickets onto transportation that you can tap onto a card reader on the bus before and after the ride. Branching off of the previous pictures, on public buses, there are seats that people can sit in but there are also many handle bars for those standing to hold onto since public buses tend to get very crowded. Buses also usually have seating areas that are reserved for certain riders such as elders and women who are pregnant. Not only this but unlike American buses, Korean buses are very high tech in that they also have televisions on them in some cases where you can catch your favorite idols.

When I first arrived to Korea, straight from the airport we entered a large tour type bus. One thing that left a lasting impression on me was the very decorative seats and curtains that were on the bus. Until on American touring buses, these buses had very fancy curtains that could cover the windows as well as cloths on the seat.
The last thing that surprised me about the Korean public transportation scene was that in many places buses have their own lanes on the busy streets so that they can get to the stops as efficiently as possible.

Kacey - Global Navigator