Straphangers

A word ought to be said about the subway system here in Seoul. It's enoromous, and but very easy to use. It's similar to the New York system, except every station (or at least, every station that I've been in thus far, which is probably a little more than a dozen) is enormous, about the size of Union Square in New York or Park Street in Boston. Each station has at least 6 and as many as 12 different exits that go to different places, and if you go out the wrong exit you'll find yourself in a completely different part of town, and because the roads are so dangerous, you won't be able to cross. When you give directions, you generally will say something like "take the #2 train to Gagnam and then go out exit 4," as the exit number is a critical part of getting to your destination.

A few other things. The subways are very clean and fast, and many have velvet seat covers on the seats. Also, cell phones get full reception on the trains and in the station. While I think this would be a total disaster in New York (everyone would be on the phone, all the time--can you imagine how annoying the morning commute would be), here it's not a big deal, as most people don't appear to have long cell phone converstations, although they text message a lot.

My other favorite thing about riding the subway here is the old people. When an old person, especially an older man, gets on the train, he has no hesitation about marching right up to someone sitting down and demanding that person's seat. It's a lot of fun to watch. I always make sure to get up right away, lest I incur the wrath of an angry old Korean man. There are some people you just don't fuck with.