Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jaybert06]

i searched the boards, but i couldn't find any topics about bicycle riding in general. from what i have gathered from blogs, friends, pictures, etc, bicycle riding is pretty frequent over in korea. i am trying to get a job over there, and i love riding my bike, so i have some questions that will hopefully open up a discussion about korean bicycle culture in general.

from all that i've seen, people mostly ride mountain bikes. is this the case in your experience? i love riding my road bike in the usa, would it be practical to ride one in korea? any specific places that road bikes vs. mountain bikes may make a huge difference? also, i love riding fixie, any fixie culture you know of in korea?

would it be practical to bring my bike with me (i love my bike), or just plan on buying one when i get there. i got mine for $100 usd on craigslist, and it is worth way more than that. what are the deals like on bikes in korea?

any great/sad/funny biking stories or experiences?

[optik404]

Fixies are starting to get popular here, theres a store in Hongdae called Fixie.

[SNOTOSEOUL]

I got a road bike for 200,000 brand new, the other one at the shop was 250,000. Lespo and Alton respectively.

As for fixies i have seen them new for 700,000+.

Maybe if you do a little research you could buy a cheaper bike and make it into a fixie.

[jaybert06]

yeah, that's what i almost did here until i got that great deal. maybe i'll just bring some of my favorite parts (the seat, fixed hub, etc.) and then try and get a cheap frame once i get there.

what about the biking conditions? from what i've heard it's probably not a good idea to bike on the roads because of the crazy drivers.

[SNOTOSEOUL]

I personally don't think that they are "bad" at driving, just different from the USA.
What I find is that the drivers here tend to go a little under the speed limits of about 60-70kph. Since there are so many scooters and other "bad" drivers they are always ready to hit the brakes or swerve. (So keep that in mind when following someone closely.) But it is accepted and many old men ride on the side of the road.
I haven't had any close calls in the three months i have been riding on the roads. And i feel safer on my bike then my scooter.
Also you don't get angry yells at people driving by. Maybe a little warning honk every now and again.
With that said most people will tell you that it is dangerous and not to do it...but those people usually dont bike themselves and if they do they have a cruddy mountain bike and ride on the sidewalks always due to their perception.
So just keep your wits and be prepared for bad, but dont let that keep you off the roads.
Also I am in a big city, just not Seoul, people their run red lights.

[jaybert06]

[SNOTOSEOUL]

In Seoul the taxis will run red lights with speed if they dont see any cars waiting on the other spurs. And also to a lesser extent in other cities.
So a green light for you when traffic isn't heavy could mean a driver pulling out without seeing you.
On a plus side it you can run reds on your bike, so if you see the coast is clear you can go through. that makes a bicycle nearly as fast as a car in traffic.

[jaybert06]

any great bike trails, favorite parks to bike in, great scenery? lets hear some stories!

[Darkeru]

Just a quick note - I've only been here two months, but I've never seen someone ride a bike on the road, but plenty of them on the pavement. Maybe it's just the area I'm in though or something.

[SNOTOSEOUL]

yeah i've only see a couple sport bikers on the road, but daily i see old men with old bikes cruising down.
As for parks there are often long river walks in all the big cities, those can be nice and relaxing.

[runthegauntlet]

I've ridden in Korea for the last two years. Probably depends a lot on the area. In Changwon (in the south) they've made a huge push to be more cycling friendly and put bike lanes on many of the roads and have rental bikes available all over the city.

I ride through the city quite a bit (and at night) and it's a bit hairy, but no more than it would be riding in a big city in the U.S. or something. And it's actually faster for me to ride a bike 10km across my city than take a bus.

Once you get out of the city, though, is where I think cycling in Korea shines. There are miles and miles of coastal roads near where I live plus some really great climbs. Gorgeous scenery.

Single track is a different issue as I've found virtually none in my area. I and a few other guys I know have ridden on the hiking trails a few times but that obviously comes with problems: lots of hikers, stairs, obstacles, etc. I bought a mtn. bike here in Korea but essentially only ride on the road and one dirt/gravel road that runs along a ridge here. Will probably put some slicks on it soon enough. Bikes here seem a bit more expensive than in the States, as is gear and other things.

There is quite a scene around the country, though, road and mountain. I did a mtn. bike race at Muju last year and it was great. Quite a few cycling events as well that you can take part in if you can figure out when and where they are (no small task).

Here's a facebook group that's usually kept up to date: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=11799660100

[le-paul]

i really agree with the previous poster.
The trains seem to be getting more cycle friendly too and its easy to throw your bike on any out of town bus if you can dismantle/fold it a bit.
Theres a cycle club in daegu too if your ever interested in a weekend ride on facebook.

[zeppelin]

[grant gerstners]

Does anyone have recommendations or warnings on folding bicycles and specific brands? I would like the convenience of quickly folding it up to put it into a bus compartment on weekend trips. But maybe that's not really an advantage if buses will take a full size bike. I suppose it depends on the driver and how full the bus is.

I've been in rural South Korea for a bit over 4 months. People run red lights here all the time when there are no police officers around.

There are only two bike shops where I live and only one has an owner who speaks English, and not much.

There is a facebook page with a list of bicycle shops in Korea:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=11799660100&topic=4306

I'm thinking of heading to a bike shop in Gwangju to see what they have, once I can figure out which bus to take in Gwangju.

I was out and about on foot very early one morning and was surprised to see a lot of people on bicycles in the dark, with no bike light.

[spicy]

i brought my trek 1420 (aluminum road bike) with me from the states about 6 weeks ago. i was here for a year teaching, and then went back to the states for a couple weeks and have since come back as a student.

i only really use my bike for exercise, and the paths next to the tributaries are nice, while the ones next to the Han River are generally particularly nice. i usually ride 3-4 times a week, 30mi or so each ride, averaging right around 17.5mph. recently the weather's gotten just about perfect for riding (you'll be a smidge cold if you're sweaty and you stop for a while, but otherwise you aren't sweating your ass off while riding like in the summer).

back in the states, i did a bit of road riding, but never in a big city, only in the suburbs of boston. here, i'd venture to say that it's harrowing, and can be really dangerous if you aren't hyper-vigilant. i ride a motorcycle back home, so i've developed a decent sixth sense about drivers doing wacky stuff, but korean drivers drive in a manner that's so different from the US, it's often hard to predict. i've had a bunch of close calls, but nothing has really happened yet (with a car, anyways). i had an old woman on a bike path cut me off (making a left across the path without even acknowledging that i was barreling down the way) without any kind of signal, and i was pretty banged up after that.

i have to ride from my place to the river paths (maybe 1.5-2mi via surface roads).

also, and not to sound culturally insensitive, but koreans are generally oblivious when it comes to moving stuff. it's more a "do what you need to do and other people will change their behavior accordingly." often that results in not smashing into each other, but occasionally it does. this is particularly true on the bike paths.

i've come to refer to them as Korean Biker Clots. you'll come across these groups of people biking together, often either all guys or all women, wearing matching athletic pennies (the stuff you wore in high school gym class while scrimmaging). they're incredibly hard to pass safely, and often will take up the entire path by riding next to each other instead of following each other in a line. they ride slowly, often using incredibly expensive, high-end, sparkling-clean mountain bikes on the frequently glass-smooth bike paths.

anyways, this has kind of turned into a rant, so i'll write some cliffs:


cliffs:
-weather has gotten perfect, but both fall and spring are quick in seoul (i'd say that riding in summer is unbearable, but i have a low heat/humidity tolerance).
-riding on surface roads is probably inadvisable/quite dangerous if you're in a major city (i'm in the heart of seoul).
-the paths along the rivers, especially the Han River, are well paved, but heavily trafficked (except on weekdays) by clueless/inexperienced/culturally different bikers.
-i've loved having my nice road bike here, but it will depend on your living situation/access to nice non-city-road paths.
-you'll also have some close calls/accidents if you ride here for any substantial amount of time