Master The Korean Subway System
Ever gotten lost on the Korean subway? The panic and dread you feel once you’ve transferred and took the train in the wrong direction is a feeling every foreigner is familiar with. Follow the advice below and master the Korean subway system in minutes!
Apps
There are a number of apps to guide you through the subway maze. You can find the for both iOS and Android. The app created by Malang Studio is among the most famous. Find it here for Android and here for iOS. Other reputable mentions include Metroid, which you can find here for Android and the Kakao Corp. subway app which you can find here for Android.
Transfers
Transfers will be the bane of your existence when in Korea! While you might imagine a one-hour commute levitra co uk news being the perfect time to catch up on your reading or grade test papers, in reality, you’ll transfer about two times, climb up and down stairs, look around in confusion and then decide to just follow the masses because you have no idea what you’re doing anyway. The subway system is a confusing maze of transfers, exits and joint stations.
Some subway apps tell you which car and door you should go to in order to transfer faster. You can do this while waiting for the train on the platform. If you’re not one of the weak of heart you can also attempt to do this while on the train. Expect to sprint from car to car while the train is stationed at stops along the way. But that’s only if it’s really crowded.
Lost Property
Remembering which car and door you are at will be very useful in case you lose something on the train. Once you realize what a great mistake you have made you should go to the Control Center. Every station has one, just ask one of the security guards in the little glass booths about it.
If you tell them the approximate time you got off the train, they will be able to identify the location of the train. Once they do that, they will send someone in the car yo look for your lost property and bring it back to you. That won’t take more than thirty minutes. Thirty minutes that you’ll be spending worrying on a couch in their little office.
Needless to say, it definitely helps if you can speak Korean or have a Korean friend translate it for you through KakaoTalk or a phone conversation.
The Car-Door Thing
To find out the subway car and door you are at all you have to do is look at the floor. In front of every door, there will be two numbers separated by a dash. Thus, when you are at the first car, in front of the first door, the numbers read 1-1. Every car has four doors.
Figuring this out in important not only for making transfers and in the case of lost property. Knowing which door to take when entering a car can help you to score a sitting place. Avoid the transfer car if you are not making a transfer soon.
Go two or three cars either side in order to increase your chances of sitting down. Moreover, the first and fourth door of every car has seats reserved for the elderly. So, try the second and third door. You will have long rows of seats on either side.
Bicycles, Strollers, Wheelchairs
The last car of every train has bicycles rails as well as space for wheelchairs and strollers. You can take elevators from the street to the train platform and vice-versa. You can find elevators in every subway station, near the last car of every train.
Schedule
During the week most subway lines circulate until approximately 1am. On the weekends, however, the train stop earlier than that. The apps you are using will provide you with the schedule for weekdays, weekends and holidays. The apps will also update automatically levitra co uk news in case changes in schedule occur.