Kojects Seoul BRT Jongno

What we missed…

The last article on Kojects was seven month (exactly 250 days) ago. There is no excuse for not writing articles and for not informing you, our readers, about interesting projects around transport in Korea. We became less active on our social media channels (Facebook and Twitter),too. A few emails in our inbox have been left unanswered. I’m very sorry for that and I hope that you can understand that life can determine priorities.

There were actually a lot of interesting developments in Korea. In the last couple of months we missed the following transport projects:

  • Ui Line: Connecting people living at the foot of Bukhan Mountain to Subway Line 1 and 2, the Ui line filled a gap in the Seoul subway network.
  • Incheon Airport Terminal 2: The new terminal of Korea’s largest airport and a major air traffic hub in Asia opened in January. The capacity increases significantly and newest technology enables a fast check-in and quick security screening.
  • Jongno BRT Line: Buses along Jongno in downtown Seoul now run on bus-only lanes. It improved the speed and convenience of the public transport service. A special feature of this project is that the bus stations can be moved to the side of the road.
  • Seoul’s free public transit countermeasure on polluted days: Last year Seoul’s mayor Park Won-Soon introduced the concept of providing free public transport during commuting hours if the air pollution exceeds a certain level for two consecutive days. The measure was executed for the first time (and two more times) at the beginning of 2018. After meeting a lot of criticism, the city government now plans to cancel this countermeasure.
  • Wonju-Gangneung KTX: The new high-speed rail line to the East Coast opened for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018. The KTX from Seoul to Gangneung reduces travel time and increases accessibility to Kangwon-do.
  • Dock-less Bike Sharing Companies in Korea: Around last year September I encountered the first free-floating bike sharing system by a private company in Korea. Since then more companies arrived and you can see their bicycles in a couple of Korean cities.
  • Electric Bicycles on Bicycle Paths: A law was passed that allows electric bicycles on bicycle paths (starting from March 22). So in this summer you will see a lot more electrically-powered bicycles on the Han River in Seoul and major bicycle paths around the country.

Sadly, I can’t promise that we will be more active on Kojects in the coming months. At least, we will try to share news on our social media channels and also react to emails. Please follow us on Twitter and/or Facebook and tell us what you want to read about more in the coming months!

Nikola

Co-Author of Kojects. Interested in Sustainable Transportation, Urbanism and Korea.

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  • Your acritical is based on Sustainable Transportation that is only impacting a minority of Korean peninsula.
    How about enforcing the transportation and road SAFETY

    I live on Geoje Island and spend many hours travelling within the Gyeongsangnam-Do region. Southern east part of South Korea.
    It is: Not only unsafe however transportation is extremely dangerous. The Road safety rules are not enforced.
    The following is just an example that can be witnessed with one afternoon:
    Driving through RED lights!!!. This appears to be an acceptable practice provide the Hazard lights are on. This includes Public and intercity bus transport. Police will observe and fail to do anything about it.
    Buses, Trucks and all vehicles drive through red lights and Zebra crossings just missing pedestrians. Once again Police will observe and do nothing.
    Parking on Walkways or parking anywhere a vehicle can fit.
    Parking on Zebra Crossings preventing public use!
    Intercity buses trucks Taxi etc well exceeding the road speed limits.
    The list goes on: Basically, failing to follow the basic Road Safety rules. Failure of authorities to enforce the rules.

    A better article would be. Making transportation Safe for Walking, Bicycles, Motorcycles, Cars, Taxi, Busses etc. Save lives by making transportation safe.
    Seeing is believing. I would be very happy to share an afternoon to Show and See.
    Korea is an amazing and beautiful country. Make Korea a safe and inviting country.

    • Dear Ashley,

      Thanks for the comment and I completely admit that I focus on sustainable transport. But sustainable transportation has co-benefits for road safety as well. Implemeting cycling paths will be done along speed reductions and BRT stations will be installed together with bette pedestrian crossings.

      As you wrote, Korea has road safety laws but enforcement is a big issue.

      In a few posts we covered road safety and ways to report violations. We will try to write more articles on road safety as well and inform about developments where possible.

  • Great to see a new post! I don’t use any social media, but I still keep regularly checking Kojects for any updates. It’s been a busy time in Korea, it’s good to see an overview of the bigger projects.

    Even if it’s 250 days between posts, Kojects is a great resource and even though I haven’t been very active in the comments, I appreciate the time you guys take to write these articles.

    Tim

  • Nice to see an update! I understand there are a number of changes coming up this year too.

    I’m curious about the complaints about and plans to cancel the free transportation days. Could you please elaborate on, or point toward some article covering, this? Thanks.

  • I understand and sympathize. You guys have your own lives and jobs to deal with. Still it would be great if some of those links/announcements would keep showing up here in the blog. IMHO this post right here is great. Easy to digest headlines, couple commentary sentences, boom. Maybe throw up some posts just like this to check in now and then. Always a fan here!

    • Hey Sam,

      Thanks! Yes, we heard you but there’s also our urge to provide comprehensive information. It was already hard to list these developments without mentioning their size. Once I mention the size, I also want to include the capacity, then the number of stations… speed…technology… ;-)

      Cheers!

  • Hi Nikola, thanks for the article. That’s too bad it didn’t work out, especially with the air this week. Let’s get a bite and a drink soon!

    • Hello!

      The KTX service from Incheon Airport was suspended a few weeks ago. You’ll have to go to Seoul Station to take a high-speed train to other cities in Korea. We’ll soon follow up with more information.

      Regards,

      Nikola

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