Korean Job Discussion Forums

fdawkins · Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Location: Daegu

I am moving to Daegu in three weeks, and I am wondering if it would be worth my time to send my bike to Korea? Is biking a good idea for transportation? Does anybody know if that are any good trails in the Daegu area?
Thanks

the eye · Joined: 29 Jan 2004

There are LOTS of trails in the hills and mountains around the city, but i wouldn't want to ride just to get around. Too many cars, traffic lights, and bad drivers.

Bibbitybop · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Location: Seoul

I ride for recreation and transportation in Seoul. It's not as bad as people make it out to be. I don't know about Daegu, but I do know you can get a new, decent bike for 200,000 won or less, so I'd save the shipping money and get one here.

the eye · Joined: 29 Jan 2004

Yeah, I think the cost itself would be the deciding factor. There are some decent bike shops here in the Gu.

kiwiduncan · Joined: 18 Jun 2007 Location: New Zealand

200,000 won will not get you anything near a good enough bike if you are keen on mtbing in Korea. Entry level mtbs that you can rely on (ie, a nice Kona frame etc) will cost you about 800,000.

There are lots of bikers in Daegu I understand, including a few expats. For expat bikers the best thing is to google for mtbk at yahoogroups. They also have a website (www.mtbk-adventure.com)

There are loads of Korean mtb websites too. My favorite is www.wildbike.co.kr. It's entirely in Korean though and hard to register without a Korean identity number (I contacted the guy who runs the site when I wsa in Korea). Once you've mastered the Korean alphabet and have a keyboard with hangul it's a great place to meet Korean riders and find good places to bike.

Biking in Korean cities is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. The pollution is more of a problem than the risk of accidents.

What kind of biking are you planning to do? What kind of bike are you bringing over?

Cheers,

Duncan