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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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 Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:57 am Post subject: Crossing the Han on a Scooter |
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| I got a job offer in Ujangsan, and I'd like to live either near Hapjeong or Noksapyeong. To dull the commute time, I want to pick up a scooter, my concern is the legality of crossing the Han on one of those bridges on a scooter. I realize that "Korea" and 'rule of law' do not go hand in hand very often, but I'm curious nonetheless. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:25 am Post subject: |
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| It's no problem. If you are on a 50cc, you may want to stick to the far right lane so people can pass you easily and you don't die. |
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Xuanzang
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Sadang
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:26 am Post subject: |
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| If you can go 90-100 km/h comfortably then you can cross the Han safely. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:31 am Post subject: |
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| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| It's no problem. If you are on a 50cc, you may want to stick to the far right lane so people can pass you easily and you don't die. |
Dying would be a drag. |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:36 am Post subject: |
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wouldn't be half as bad as scraping the pavement, suffering for a couple of years in traction, never being able to walk again and winding up at the mercy of whoever's gonna take you in 
yeah, ask me how it is to see someone you planned to spend the rest of your life with lying in a hospital bed with tubes stuck out, eyes wide open but diagnosed as irreparable brain damage.
he took years to die.  |
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NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| There are no scooters that can cross the Han. You're thinking of something called a "boat." |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| Xuanzang wrote: |
| If you can go 90-100 km/h comfortably then you can cross the Han safely. |
The speed limit on a lot of bridges is 60. |
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GoldMember
Joined: 24 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:49 am Post subject: |
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| What's a speed limit? |
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Yesterday
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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| NoExplode wrote: |
| There are no scooters that can cross the Han. You're thinking of something called a "boat." |
Years ago - during winter - the Han used to freeze over (become ice)
you could walk over, ride a bicycle, ice skate etc on the Han River... |
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seoulteacher
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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| NoExplode wrote: |
| There are no scooters that can cross the Han. You're thinking of something called a "boat." |
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Hahahaha, NoExplode...
Sounds like we had the the same reaction to this thread's title. I thought, "Some Daves twit is wanting to try crossing the Han on a scooter...must be thinking of modifying it, water flying every which way ( http://www.ultimatejourney.com/Chile.Coyhaique.PedroRiver.JPG ), and a day off teaching at his/her hogwan, more if the scooter decides to trip the night fantastic on the riverbed..."
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But on a more serious note, I too (oh, 5 years or so ago), wondered about going between home and work across the Han on my own scooter or motorbike. But I didn't like the feel I got from the passing parade: just too much traffic, and that'd be traffic with erratic drivers, and bridges with uneven surfaces.
I am reminded, too, of a colleague who gave up riding a motorbike in Seoul, after he'd had a couple close calls. I restricted my riding to basically on campus: the 2nd hand bikes I had were just not reliable enough. And so I think I was lucky: riding a motorbike or scooter in Korea is looking for an accident, even in the relative quiet of a campus.
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And I could tell you stories of a high school friend lying in a box on his hospital bed, so that the sheets would not touch where his skin had been scraped off: his bike hit the gravel at the end of new highway construction, and at high speed; or of one of my brothers who spent 6 months in hospital after he'd broken his leg in like twenty places - luckily he was near to a Rocky mountain hospital that had a specialist in bad breaks and fractures, or he'd have lost the leg; or of another high school friend who I taught how to ride - I later visited him in hospital, after he, too, had badly damaged a leg in an accident.
In a word: don't. As in please don't ride on Seoul's streets; I could even introduce you now to someone I know in Seoul who, years later, is still paying the price, a heavy price of not being able to work again, for an accident that was truly not his fault. It all happens so quickly.
(But my brother? Immediately after he got out of hospital he went and got himself another, and brand new, Harley: a dangerous seduction, is riding).
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And on a most serious note, Moosehead, my sympathies: that must have been unbelievably hard on you to see someone you love so much be in that condition. May he be at peace. |
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PigeonFart
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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I feel terribly bold for asking this question...but why dont you find a place to live in Ujangsan? I'm familiar with Ujangsan, and the bridge you're referring to, and traffic can be very heavy during rush hour. Even though you'd be on a scooter, it'd still take ages to get to Ujangsan because of those bloody Korean traffic lights. It'd take at least 20 minutes each way. That's 40 mins a day, that's over 3 hours commuting a week!!! Not to mention cost of fuel (ok not much), but you're putting your life at risk too!
Rents will be cheaper in Ujangsan. Sure it'd be great to live near Hongdae or Itaewon. But if you're only planning on only going to Hongdae/Itaewon/Sinchon at the weekends then i'd say you should seriously consider living near work. The wastage of 3 hours commuting, putting your LIFE at risk, having to buy scooter/fuel/tax/insurance just doesnt pay off for the convenience of walking home from Hongdae/Itaewon late on a Friday/Saturday night.
Now if you're going to be hanging around Hongdae/Itaewon/Sinchon all week, then maybe you should live there.
I'm terribly sorry for imposing my point of view on your plans. Just wanted to add my two penny piece. Good luck anyway, whatever you do.
Lot's of hills in Ujangsan from what i remember. Have a nice time there. |
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jkelly80
Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Location: you boys like mexico?
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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| PigeonFart wrote: |
I feel terribly bold for asking this question...but why dont you find a place to live in Ujangsan? I'm familiar with Ujangsan, and the bridge you're referring to, and traffic can be very heavy during rush hour. Even though you'd be on a scooter, it'd still take ages to get to Ujangsan because of those bloody Korean traffic lights. It'd take at least 20 minutes each way. That's 40 mins a day, that's over 3 hours commuting a week!!! Not to mention cost of fuel (ok not much), but you're putting your life at risk too!
Rents will be cheaper in Ujangsan. Sure it'd be great to live near Hongdae or Itaewon. But if you're only planning on only going to Hongdae/Itaewon/Sinchon at the weekends then i'd say you should seriously consider living near work. The wastage of 3 hours commuting, putting your LIFE at risk, having to buy scooter/fuel/tax/insurance just doesnt pay off for the convenience of walking home from Hongdae/Itaewon late on a Friday/Saturday night.
Now if you're going to be hanging around Hongdae/Itaewon/Sinchon all week, then maybe you should live there.
I'm terribly sorry for imposing my point of view on your plans. Just wanted to add my two penny piece. Good luck anyway, whatever you do.
Lot's of hills in Ujangsan from what i remember. Have a nice time there. |
I've heard it's OK there, but I do spend quite a bit of my weekdays in those areas (Hongdae/Sinchon/Itaewon). As is right now, my elem. school stuck me 40 min away by foot from my school cuz there's no buses that go there, so even if I take the subway 20 min every day it's half the commute I'm currently doing. I've spent the previous year in 응암and have to say I've had enough of authentic Seoul neighborhood experience(read: ajeossis everywhere!!). If I'm going to be in West Seoul, I want to live with whitey in his whitey ghetto. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| In a word: don't. As in please don't ride on Seoul's streets |
Head over to the 50+ page "Official Motorcycle/Scooter Thread" for dozens of people who encourage riding 2 wheels in Korea, or if they don't encourage it, have a lot of knowledge and answers about riding safely and efficiently in Korea. |
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seoulteacher
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:42 am Post subject: |
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| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| Quote: |
| In a word: don't. As in please don't ride on Seoul's streets |
Head over to the 50+ page "Official Motorcycle/Scooter Thread" for dozens of people who encourage riding 2 wheels in Korea, or if they don't encourage it, have a lot of knowledge and answers about riding safely and efficiently in Korea. |
Yeah, I know, riding a scooter or motorbike is so good: the freedom and the wind in your face and the sensation of speed. And many will speak of its plusses. I know, and I continued riding here in Seoul even after I'd come to realize just how easy it is for things to go horribly wrong.
I know, I know, Bibbitybop, but my advice/request stands: the risk is really not worth it. Drivers don't see you and will turn right in front of you, the road can be slippery and next thing you know, you're down and sliding, and utter twits can ride their unlicenced scooters right into you.
The unlicenced-scooter-riding-into-you happened here to a foreigner I know. And, and according to what I've been told, not only is his health permanently impaired and rather dramatically so (to such an extent that I gather he hasn't been able to teach for a year or two), but he's - 2 years after the fact - still waiting for a financial settlement. |
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Forward Observer
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Location: FOB Gloria
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| Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 1:25 pm Post subject: |
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While the odds may be against bikers, especially in Seoul, there are still many advantages to driving or riding. Public transportation in Korea is a huge strain on foreigners. It's one of the biggest sources of stress for us for a variety of reasons that have been discussed over and over again through the years. Having a bike allows you to get to where you're going in less than half the time it would on public transport. Is the risk worth it? Maybe, if you can beat the odds.
When you get your own transportation in Korea, it's like a huge dead weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Sure, sometimes you get pissed off at the drivers that don't know their head from a hole in the ground. Seoul is a big city and the roads & parking pretty much suck, but it's still infinitely better than riding public transportation and being exposed to all that goes along with it.
As for getting into accidents or being hit by careless and drunk drivers, hey you can get plowed over just walking across the street here just as easily. |
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