SDLC Cultural Post #7

[June Choi]

Korean public transportation is a highly cost and time-efficient system that includes 8 international airports, 6 domestic airports, the KTX high speed train system, and an abundance of buses, subways, and taxis. The Korean railway allows for citizens to travel through the country easily and at low cost, for the system links all of the cities together. The KTX high speed train was established in April 2004 and can reach a top speed of 300 km/hr. It is more expensive than the average train but is very popular due to its comfortability and speed. The Korean subway system fully operates in the cities Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Incheon, with Gwangju and Daejeon having subway systems under construction. The subway system is very popular among commuters to work and school, and thus becomes very packed during rush hour. Based on my personal experience, I had to take the subway to go into the city or to go to my research job. It became so crowded to the point that I was squeezed in between people and could not exit the subway at my stop. Lastly, the Korean bus service is divided into three main networks, including the regional service, local service, and Incheon airport bus service. The regional service has gosok buses that can operate over long distances with few stops, and shioe buses that operate over shorter distances with more stops. I used the bus system in Korean when I attend school there for 3 years, and it made commuting to and from school fairly easy. However, it was nerve-wracking when I sometimes forgot to get off at my stop and had to run to school from the next closest stop.