Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mojogrrl]

I'm an avid urban cycler in the DC area for everyday transportation needs. Hopefully I'll be in Korea by September 2008, but biking is a true passion of mine, and I'd surely miss it if there were no opportunities to do so on a regular basis. Do folks use bikes as a primary mode of transport in Seoul?

thanks y'all.

[happeningthang]

Short answer is no. Not for getting around in the city itself.

Roads are narrow, congested, and when not clogged people are driving around pretty quickly. Footpaths are varied, with some paved with ill fitting bricks and uneven concrete to some well maintained walkways, but again they can be crowded and you'll usually see more cars, motorbikes and scooters on the footpaths then you will see bicycles.

There are some cyclepaths along the river Han and it's tribtaries, and there are a lot of cycling enthusiasts around who will pack the bike into the car and get outside of the city, but generally, in Seoul itself, the pecking order is bus, truck, taxi, car, motor bike, scooter. There aren't even any cycle couriers around.

[Bibbitybop]

I've ridden all over Seoul on a bicycle, just watch out for traffic. It is annoying that there are no designated paths. Even if there were, people would simply set up their sock stand or bondaegii stand on it.

[michael5799042]

If you want to bike on your day off then you can go to the bike trail by the river and bike for miles and miles. If you want to use your bike for commuting and chores then, unless you are very brave, it might be a little overwhelming dealing with the traffic.

[kiwiduncan]

(Edit: I've just set up a Facebook group for cyclists in Korea)

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11799660100

Being able to commute by bike will really depend on where you live and where you work in Seoul. The riverside bike paths are being lengthened all the time and provide a pretty good way of getting around. It's true that once you get away from the riversides the paths are more difficult to use and you have more trafffic to contend with, but if you're already used to riding in a big city you'll be ok here. To tell the truth, I've never used a bike for regular commuting, but that's because I always lived within walking distance to work.

The number of cycle commuters in Seoul has increased quite a bit in the last few years and the Seoul city government and private groups are making pretty sincere efforts to promote it even more. It's true that the cyclepath network is mostly confined to the riversides at the moment, but they have plans to make many more designated cyclepaths on more commonly used streets in the future.

Once you're on your bike and part of the traffic you'll see that Korean roads are not nearly as dangerous as they look. When I was living in Seoul I found Korean drivers, especially the bus drivers, to be quite conscientious around cyclists. During 4 years of cycling there I only had one accident that involved another person. It was a slow motion crash that only buggered my front wheel and the old man responsible was happy to pay me the 100,000w to replace it.

My two biggest concerns about cycling around Seoul would be the air pollution and the extremes of the weather. If you plan to cycle to work make sure you have access to somewhere with a shower at your work.

In the other thread about biking in Korea one guy also mentioned the number of flat tyres you'll get. Maybe he just had bad luck or something, as in 5 years of cycling in Korea pretty much all my flats have occured during mountain biking rather than urban commuting.

Below are examples of nice bike paths in Seoul.

The is by Anyang Stream.


This is in Songpa Gu.





Finally, in terms of meeting lots of other bikers and activists and getting involved in various green groups, you're far better off in a bigger city such as Seoul. I'm in Yeosu at the moment and, while the scenery is lovely and the air is clean, Seoul has far more interesting people and issues to get involved with.

[eliross]

I've been cycling here for a few months. I don't commute, I just ride the bike paths out of the city, so take this with a grain of salt. The biggest problem is pollution. I thought I was in really out of shape with all my hacking and wheezing until I bought a mask. It made a HUGE difference. Now I ride pretty comfortably. The pollution was so bad that I'd feel like I had a bad flu after a ride. The next day I'd be hacking up all kinds of indescribables. The weather is also pretty harsh, bitter cold during winter and hot and soggy during summer. For four or five months it's great riding weather, for a few months it's bearable if you have the right clothes, and there's a few months of pretty unridable weather.

For commuting, I think it's possible but I wouldn't want to do it in the Kangnam area. Where I'm located it's hard to make it through the traffic (even on a bike). Cyclist awareness seems to not exist and Seoul traffic is some of the worst in the world. People often break the simplest of traffic rules and Koreans often do not have any consideration of others when driving/walking (it's part of the culture and not meant to be rude).

That being said, the bike paths along the river go far down some tributaries and can take you all the way out of Seoul. There's hundreds of kilometers of bike paths and you can do some pretty comfortable road riding out of Seoul.

[Bibbitybop]

I never had the pollution get to me when biking in Seoul.

Also, you can get a collapsible bike (folds in half) that can be taken onto the subways. Buses are much more difficult, but subways are no problem except for lugging it around in the station.

[Bailsibub]

Mojo, you can DEFINITELY ride here. I'm from DC, too, and used to commute and race there.

You�ll probably find riding here better than DC. There just isn�t that hostility towards cyclists (or at least they aren�t expressing it�). I commute in one of the busiest areas of Seoul everyday, by the way. It�s less than ten minutes, but still that�s A LOT better than a 30-minute walk (and I get to enjoy a bike ride).

Drivers here don�t yell at you. They give you plenty of room when passing if they have to. But if you live in the busier parts of Seoul, cars won�t be able to keep up with you because of traffic. So passing isn�t really in issue in that case.

You�ll see other cyclists out there. Commuting, racing, and touring are getting more and more popular each year. And like another poster discussed, the folder bikes are pretty common.

Oh yeah, and if you want a sweet city bike, you can get one off the web here for like $60 or $70, with fenders and racks�.Security isn�t a big deal, people use cable locks�I saw so many cut ones at the Dupont Circle metro one day, it looked like a plate of pasta lying there!

Also, if you want to get out of the city, there is plenty of great riding in Kangwando�and all around Korea for that matter.

[Suwoner10]

Word of advice. DON'T get clipless pedals if you're riding around Seoul. Get Five.Ten Impacts and use flat pedals. You'll crash more from abrupt stops and the like if you can't move your feet instantaneously.

[OnTheOtherSide]

How is the urban bicycling scene in Pusan? Similar to Seoul?

[endo]

Commuting to work may be a bit of a hassle, but if you live in a newer neighborhood their are lots of great bike trails.


However, the best bike trails (like some have already said) are along the Han River and its tributaries.

Absolutely beautiful and one of the best things about living in Seoul. This past Saturday I rode my bike from the mouth of the Anyang Stream (whiich flows into the Han River in south west Seoul) all the way down south to Anyang. About 20km each way.

Here are some pics I took:

[kiwiduncan]

[kiwiduncan]

Here are some more images of the riverside cycling options in Seoul.

[simone]

I'm soooo not in shape these days, but I've started biking to and from work. It's 7 km from home to my office, with 90% of the trip along the riverside.

Three trips now - I'm staggering my subway riding with it for the first week or so till my legs strengthen.

One question - how long are the bones in my crotch area supposed to ache like this? Would a better seat fix that? Or will I just toughen up?

[Bailsibub]

Simone, most bikes are fitted for men. That means that the saddles on them are designed to fit the male pelvis, which isn't as wide as a female's.

So instead of fitting on the pelvic bones, the saddle goes up higher than it should, putting pressure on regions it shouldn't.

Try out a female-specific saddle and, definitely, some cycling shorts (if you aren't using them already).