Catching a bus in South Korea

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Living in the countryside of South Korea could leave a person stranded if they didn’t own a car except Koreans have come up with a three-tiered bus system working eighteen hours per day. This three-tiered system uses express buses driving directly to and from major city cores to the countryside, standard buses picking up a few extra stops and not going large distances and local buses running haplessly through the entire countryside but never into the major city centers. Plus as long as you own a T-money card, your life using public transportation will be as simple as getting on, scanning your card, sitting down, enjoying the ride and scanning your card as you depart at your destination.

One of the biggest advantages of this system is every bus route is color coded for even the most ignorant of bus riders to catch the correct bus. From English Village to Hapjeong station on the outskirts of central Seoul a person needs to catch the red express bus listed as #2200. This bus will whisk you around Heyri ArtValley, down the highway and into Paju Book City for 1,700 won in fifteen to twenty minutes depending on weather and road conditions. If you choose to continue onward with this express bus this bus will reach Hapjeong station in another fifteen to forty minutes.

Next on your list of buses to catch is the red express bus listed as #200. This bus will whisk you around Beopheung-ri, down through the highway and into Paju Book City again for 1,700 won in fifteen to twenty minutes depending on weather and road conditions. However, if you choose to ride this bus it continues on to Paju City about ten minutes away then down to Ilsan about twenty to thirty minutes further. If Ilsan doesn’t strike your fancy you can ride this bus all the way to Hapjeong station but be warned the total one-way trip is roughly ninety-minutes, ouch!

Your third option for escaping the English Village, Heyri ArtValley areas is to catch the standard green bus #900 heading for Geumchon and beyond. This bus runs approximately every fifteen to twenty minutes for a rate of 900 won when you get on. It will reevaluate your destination location when you swipe your T-money card when getting off and charge appropriately for the distance traveled. This trip one way takes approximately twenty to forty minutes depending on weather and road conditions.

The final option for this area is to catch one of several local lime green buses all starting with the #0: 031, 033, 035, 036. With all buses it is best to step off the sidewalk into the street gesturing with your arm at the bus driver when it approaches showing your intentions of gaining entry. These are the smallest of the four bus options and drive at rapid speeds around the countryside and in the city. These drivers tend to stop at random locations along countryside roads to pickup the locals. The best part of using local lime green mini-buses is the rates. A typical rate is 300 won. How far this gets you or if you ever make it to your destination is up to both you and the driver.

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