Modes of Transportation in South Korea

There are a lot of ways on how to get around South Korea.            By land, water and air travel, a local or tourist can navigate the vast country of South Korea. There are many  modes of transportation available  including railways, cars, buses, ferries and airplanes. The goal of these transportation systems is to connect every part of the city and the city to rural areas and South Korea to other countries around the world.

Railways

            In 1899, South Korea had its first railway system that connected Incheon and Seoul.

Since then, the system have expanded that even reached the “Trans Siberian Railway.” However, numerous train lines were severely destroyed because of the war between North and South Korea. Presently, the railway system  is considered as the most convenient way of  traveling long distances.

Also, it is economical and practical (Gone2Korea, 2007, “Public Transportation in Korea”).

The railway system in South Korea is comprised of three different types namely: “Mugunghwa- ho, Tongil-ho, Saemaeul-ho.

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” Mugunghwa- ho provides the most number of lines that link one city from the other while Tongil-ho has smaller trains that  traverse rural villages. Among the three, Saemaeul-ho is the only first class fast train (Seoul Searching, 2006, “Seoul Trains”).

Subways

            Before the construction of the subway system, Koreans have usually used cars to get around the city. During 1968, Koreans were introduced to the concept of a subway as a means  of transportation. There are several cities that have integrated a subway system including “Incheon, Busan, Daegu and Seoul”(Gone2Korea, 2007, “Public Transportation in Korea”). In Seoul, cars of subways are located underground while in other cities these are situated above ground (Gone2Korea, 2007, “Seoul's Subway System”).

Cars and Buses

            There are two kinds of bus services: Regional and Local service. Regional bus service serves most of the town in South Korea. Also, there are two types of regional service, Gosok are buses that transports commuters for long distances while Shioe is the opposite wherein its has more stops and it takes longer time to travel. The other kind of bus service is the local bus service that operates in cities. There has also two types of local bus service, Jwaseok which is more of high class quality while Ilban is more affordable (Gone2Korea, 2007, “Public Transportation in Korea”).

            Meanwhile, land travel can also be done by riding taxis. Usually, taxis are silver or white in color.  The regular taxi or Ilban are often used by locals because it is cheaper while the Deluxe taxi caters to foreigners which is most often than not overpriced (Asianinfo.org, 2000, “Transportation in Seoul”).

Waterways and Air Travel

            South Korea offers a number of public ferry services which is served in four main ports namely: “Busan, Mokpo, Incheon and Pohang.” More so, it has the largest commercial ships across the globe that provide “regular services to Japan, Middle East and China” (Gone2Korea, 2007, “Public Transportation in Korea”).

            Furthermore, South Korea is equipped with 15 airports in which 7 are for domestic travel and 8 are for international travel. Of all 15 airports, Incheon International airport has the most number of travelers (Gone2Korea, 2007, “Public Transportation in Korea”).

References

Asianinfo.org. 2000. Transportation in Seoul. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from             http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/seoul/transportation_in_seoul.htm.

Gone2Korea. 2007. Public Transportation in Korea. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from             http://www.gone2korea.com/transportation.html#railway.

Gone2Korea. 2007. Seoul's Subway System. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from             http://www.seoulsearching.com/transportation/subway/.

Seoul Searching. 2006. Seoul Trains. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from