My EXPERIENCE of the PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION in KOREA vs in EUROPE 

by Reina G****

 

INTRODUCING KOREAGAPYEAR INTER:

I am Reina, 19 years old, my MBTI is INTP and I am a pisces! I come from a small town in North-Holland. When it comes to languages, I can say that I speak Dutch and English fluently and currently working on my Korean!  I like to be creative, not only with my study but also in my make-up or fashion. I’m obsessed with traveling, my dog, music, and taking pictures of the sky. I chose KoreaGapYear KGY for my internship in Korea, because I wanted to travel and learn a new culture during my stay and my classmate introduced to me KoreaGapYear and they helped me make that goal come true

 

Since I started studying outside of my hometown I started being in trains, subways and other forms of public transport a lot. So much that I even wrote an article about how I feel comfortable and almost at home in the train.  Because I got so comfortable with traveling in public transport, it felt the same in a foreign country.  So who else than me can compare Korean public transport in comparison to (western) European public transport? Having already spent so much on public transportation in my homecountry it came naturally to do a comparison with the ones here in South Korea. Now I would like to share what my conclusions and discoveries are

ALWAYS ON TIME 

Let’s start with the fact that IT IS ON TIME EVEN  DURING RUSH HOUR!!!  If there’s something I hate about the European public transport (with special mention: the Dutch railways) is that during rush hour they manage to always be late anyhow. They won’t even put it on the screens if the delay is less than 5 minutes! In Korea I haven't experienced a delay more than one or two times in the last three months that I have been here. It can be a bit more crowded in the subways and buses during rush hour but they’re still on time! So unless you snooze your alarm too many times you won’t be late with the Korean public transport system

 

CONVENIENCE

Also, there are way more different lines you can take and if you miss one bus you can always take another one with or without a transfer to the same location. In Europe having a car is almost necessary to get around while in Korea you can just get around easier by public transport. 

 

CHEAP

It is also way, way cheaper. So cheap that it makes me think if the European prices are even worth it for the short trip that you’re making. I will go on the bus in Seoul for 30 minutes and not lose more than 1.5 euros. If I do that in Europe it’ll be easily 7-15 euros lost, maybe even more.

PRIVACY

Other travelers here are also less prone to bother you than the nosy Europeans since everyone is just minding their own business, at least that's my experience since I came here. Except for a few people who ask for directions or other foreigners who approach you, no one will really bother you.

 

GETTING IN SHAPE

Now you might think that this feels too much of a fake positive post because I haven’t mentioned anything negative yet. But if we’re being honest, the only negative point is that there are a lot of stairs you have to climb to get out or to transfer to another line, unless you have enough time to stand in line for the escalator… get ready for a workout. For some of us this actually isn’t such a negative point because it just means you won’t have to go to the gym for another day anymore. So it is up to you.

We have come to the most important part;

SLEEPABILITY 

One thing that I love to do in public transport is to just take a nap and feel like I am a baby in a moving crib. Of course it’s not good if you miss your stop when you sleep too deep, so don’t do that! But it is a great way to skip the time for when your trip is very long and boring. 

European trains and Korean trains are both on the same level, very nice, but Korean train desks hold more weight so it is easier to sleep on those than on the ones in Europe (or at least in the Netherlands). 

Buses? Korean buses win at sleepability. Even though some drivers can get a bit too rough on the road they’re just less stressful with stops so I feel more comfortable taking a short nap in them.

Same goes for the subway but that is also because the subways go on way longer routes here than in the ones in Europe and you won’t get any weird looks for it either. 

 

Korea (especially Seoul) just has a great public transport system and I can barely say anything bad about it. The public transport system in my home country, the Netherlands, is also great but very expensive and has a lot of flaws that they just don’t (or barely) have here.  Now if you excuse me, I will get ready for a nap in the bus to home:)