Getting Around Sejong

Now that we have been here for a couple weeks I thought it would be nice to talk about how we get around here.

We do not have a car so we have to either walk or use public transportation. On the weekends we usually walk to go shopping and during the week we take the bus to go to work. We have taken a taxi once as well.

We are still looking forward to taking a train and we will let you know when we do.

Walking

This was on our first walk to HomePlus. We are on one of the pathways by the river, which you can't see

Walking around Sejong has been very enjoyable and easy to do. There are sidewalks everywhere. There are rivers that flow through the city so there are also many trails that go along the rivers. These trails are very nice and also make good shortcuts. Along the sidewalks and trails, there are many parks scattered throughout the city.  This makes for very pleasant walks because we can find nice places to sit and rest.

Here is an entrance to a park we found, but we decided to save it for later.

This is a cool monument along the trail we walked on. Not sure what it was for but it was really nice to see something in the traditional Korean style.

To get around we use the Naver Maps app. Naver is the google of Korea.  So far we haven't had any issues with it, but we can't use it to its full potential because it is only in Korean. We basically just look at the map portion and we figure out, which way to go. We just hope that Naver Maps has searched exactly what we put it.

We haven't gotten lost yet, but only time will tell.

Buses

The bus system here is very nice and so far we haven't had a single problem. The buses arrive at the stops on time and are very efficient. The bus stops are scatter throughout the city and are very nice.  Each bus stop has a sheltered bench and a TV screen that shows when the buses will be arriving. Figuring out which bus stop to use takes a little bit of time because we can't read all of the names. We just keep an eye out for certain landmarks so that we know when to get off.

Here is a typical bus stop.  They are very nice to rest at and all have a unique name. The bus stop we use to go to work is called Namseong-dong

There is a TV screen at each bus stop. It tells you how many minutes away it is and when there is a circle next to the route it means that it will arriving in the next minute.  We can take the 215 or the 1000 to work and back.

These are the maps that are posted on at the bus stops and on the buses. It shows the order of which bus stops your bus will get going to.

The buses do not travel in straight lines like they do in San Francisco. The buses take turns and travel all throughout the city. For us the bus costs about W1150 per ride, but the fare is actually based on the distance you travel. When you get on the bus you must enter through the front door and then you swipe your T-card or debit card. Then you sit down and like any other bus you have to press a STOP button when you want to get off at your stop. When you arrive at your stop you must exit through the back door and then you swipe your card again. If you don't swipe your card when you get off the bus, then you will be charged a higher fare.

One thing that we have to mention about the bus system are the drivers. The drivers are nice and greet you when you get on, but then they start to drive. We believe that the drivers are so focused on getting to the stops on time that they will drive however they want. There is a lot of lane weaving, passing and sudden stops. If you are on the bus it is risky to be standing because you can get thrown around pretty easily. Oh and they do all of this while driving stick! So there is a lot of gear shifting as well. I am sure people are used to it but we still every now and then get worried about our safety.

This the only picture I could find of the route our bus takes.  It is all over the place.

T-Money cards have fun pictures on them.

Inside of the bus. They are very clean and mostly single seating except for in the back. Lots of bars and handles to hold onto, which are very necessary.

Overall the bus system has been very nice to us. Also, our co workers have helped us navigate the city.

Taxis

At this point we have only taken one taxi. Our coworker called it for us and told the cab driver in person where we needed to go. Unfortunately it wasn't as smooth as we had hoped. He took us to a totally different location, which we had figured because we couldn't recognize anything and we went on a highway for about 5-10 minutes. 

When he stopped we told him that this wasn't right. I then messaged our co worker and she called the guy on the phone and chewed him out. She said that he was trying to rip us off, but she would make sure that the guy would never do that again (we work with great people). The driver eventually took us where we needed to go and we got home safely.  

After that experience we are pretty hesitant to try taking a taxi again, but we might warm up to it in the future.  We will see.