Korean Job Discussion Forums

[the oak llama]

Hi,

In September I will most likely be in Busan, Daegu or Gwanju (city).

I am coming from Philadelphia, US, which I think is fairly bike friendly, meaning it is pretty much flat, bike lanes can be found here and there, so it's possible to get just about anywhere you would need to go.

So I'm interested in being able to commute via bike, or go across town rather than get on a train.

Can anyone share with me his or her experience with any of these cities and biking? Easy, difficult, unwise?

thanks

[OneWayTraffic]

Can't speak for those towns, but Seoul isn't bad. Songpa gu is plain awsome by Korean standards. Flat, bicycle lanes on every main street and automatic air pumps by the subway stations.

You will probably be able to bike where you like, but it may take some time to learn the routes and layout of the city.

http://www.ibike.org/engineering/korea/index.htm

If you really want to bike go to Sangju. Not exactly a big town though.

[Kurtz]

Busan is dangerous, drivers are real arseholes and next to no bike lanes I've seen, cars pull out without looking, taxi drivers swerving in and out. Good MTB though.

[Cohiba]

I use my bike all day, everyday for work. No problems. You just have
to vigilant of traffic. Koreans aren't bad drivers, they are just a little
erratic.

Why do you want to live in Busan, Gwangju or that other strange place
you mentioned? All the cycling clubs are in Seoul. There is one club
that picks up its members in Itaewon in big Chevy and Ford trucks
and then burns them out to riding areas. Then back at the end of day for
pints of ale and good food. Nothing like that south of the capital.

I think it is: http://www.mtbk-adventure.com/

PS: Bring a Kryptonite or Bulldog lock. My bike is worth about
3,000,000KRW. I've returned to my locked bike and person(s) have
obviously tried to move it.

[jindodog]

well it can be annoying...but the ' bike lanes' are on the sidewalk...if you see red brick, that's for bikes.

[OneWayTraffic]

[nosmallplans]

the only thing i dont like about commuting through seoul are the bridges, but it's pretty easy to skitch a truck across so as long as you've got your head on a swivel you'll manage just fine.

[VanIslander]

bike friendly Korean cities: Jinju, Changwon, Jeonju

[jindodog]

[jindodog]

[VanIslander]

[RACETRAITOR]

Korea is not a very flat country so it's not a great place for bikes unless you really know where you're going.

[VanIslander]

If you don't mind a small city that's a bit removed from the rest, Jeju Island has great biking, the road around the nation's largest island is flat for huge stretches and has plenty of cyclists in the summer, and the weather thereabouts is very pleasant from May through October. certainly worth a visit if not year of teaching for you.

[Blueberry]

It is one of the best Mountain Biking countries on earth though, when you figure trail proximity to population centers. Taking out inattentive ajumma hikers is just a bonus.

[jindodog]

I've lived in Jeju, I live in Gyeongju.....Jeju might be a nice place to *visit* and bike....like van islander said there's a highway that's pretty flat....but actual everyday getting around can be very hilly seeing as the whole island is a volcano in the middle of the sea. You're either going up towards the mountain or down towards the sea....or around the mountain (like on that one highway).

Gyeongju is awesome for biking. The traffice is reasonable, there's two rivers with actual bike paths, and it's surrounded by mountains of course, but the actual 'getting around' land is flat. I ride my bike everyday here.

In Jeju that would have been impossible a lot of days because of giant hills and inclimate weather (read wind that will knock you on your butt, sideways rain and sometimes ice, snow, blizzards and typhoons.)