Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DanseurVertical]

Many busses in the US have bike racks, such that you can bike to a bus station, and when the bus comes you rack your bike and board.

Is Korea like this as well? In particular, what about the greater Anyang area?

[nathanrutledge]

not at all. you can take a bike in the undercarriage of the cross country buses, but that's it.

[Troglodyte]

I've seen a couple city buses in Gyeonggido with those bike holding racks on the front. Rare - very rare - maybe only 2 buses ever - but I do remember seeing it. Don't count on it though.

You can take a small fold-up bike on the city bus. You can take any type of bike on the subways (excluding rush hour). If you take it on the subway, you're supposed to use the last compartment.

On intercity buses, you can put a bike in the luggage compartment below the bus. See if you can find a piece of cardboard to cover the bike with. The bus driver may be reluctant if the bike isn't super clean. In my experience though, they usually don't care as long as it's not covered in mud and the compartment isn't already near full. For your own benefit, bring a wrench with you to remove the pedals. It's better for your bike.

[Big_Bird]

I was disappointed arriving in Korea after living in China, where I had ridden a bike every day. There was no bike culture where I lived, and I soon realised it was terribly dangerous given how Koreans drive, and the lack of bike lanes and the like. Perhaps it depends where you live, but I lived in Seoul as well as in a nearby city and I just had to give up on cycling the whole time I remained in Korea.

[pkang0202]

[Big_Bird]

[pkang0202]

[Big_Bird]

Then can you answer the OPs question about whether you can rack your bike and board?

[exit86]

Big Bird's description of China's bike culture sound so nice.
I do wish Korea had something like that. It has gotten much better
here in Seoul in terms of bike lanes and a growing bike culture, but it is only geared-up weekend warrior guys with the Kermit the Frog neoprene-esque full body bike suits and top-of-the-line rides that are carried over patches of mud or dirt in the path.

My wish is that it were more thorough here in Seoul. You'll have nice, one-way bike paths on one side of the street, but not on the other;
motorcycles/motorbikes riding in the bike-only lane; cars parking in the bike lane; etc. Seoul has yet to figure out how to make bicycle traffic
lanes/facilities for every day use, as opposed to how they are now--made more for recreation.

I think Seoul is getting there in this respect; but it may take a bit of time.

[chungbukdo]

What is the name of that small city in Korea that is supposed to be the most bikeable place in the country? I heard they have bike paths everywhere and free bikes to borrow like in the Netherlands.

BTW This outlines some of Seoul's actions and plans wrt becoming more bike friendly http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/05/117_33188.html

[twilczynski]

Daegu is really bike-friendly. Even if there is no bike path, streets and pavements are so wide that you can just ride on them comfortably. I used to ride my bike everwhere I wanted to go to when I lived there. On the other hand, Seoul is terrible in this matter

[UknowsI]

(North-West) Daejeon is relatively bike friendly. We have free (?) bikes you can borrow, most roads have separated bike/walking paths without many people on them. The river has separated paths for pedestrians and bikes. In the Daeddeok Science Town I would even say it's possible to bike quite fast, but you can generally only consider yourself a fast pedestrian and not anything close to a race biker. However, it's quite important to know the area well and know where you can bike properly and where it's too crowded. Choosing the long route can save you a lot of time if that means you get smooth pavement without many people.

[shifty]