Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走!
Hello everyone! :D
This post is related to my recent blog posts about my trip in Korea.
Since we were traveling on our own,
we took public transport (i.e. subway, public bus) most of the time.
Many of my friends commented that the subway lines in Korea is complicated,
(as you all know, there are more than 10 subway lines, just in Seoul City itself!,
and there are so many Exits in one station)
ended-up they got so stressed-out during the trip.
Well, I think I just got the right APP for you ;)
By coincidence, I downloaded this APP on Play Store during our trip.
Simply search/type "Subway Korea" or "지하철".
Don't worry if you don't know Hangul,
you can select "English" as your language during setup.
That's one of the reasons I think its user-friendly.
Easy walk-through tutorial to use Subway Korea APP
In this tutorial, I'm showing you how to get ourselves from our guesthouse to Gapyeong,
as we are visiting Nami Island.
Download the APP, and you're ready to go!
The default home page should display the map of Seoul's subway lines in whole.
(it really get dizzy just by looking at it)
Click the "train" button as shown above.
It serves as "option" button.
Click "search" button to find your desire station.
Well, I assumed you must have located yourself,
i.e. which subway station is your departure point.
For instance, the nearest subway station from our guesthouse is Myeongdong.
Thence, Myeongdong Station is our starting point.
It's a little bit tricky as in searching the station's name.
Just like Chinese characters, their pronunciations are expressed by pinyin.
Korean Hangul characters are commonly expressed in Romanization.
So, as long as you can spell the Romanization of the station's name correctly,
you will be able to locate the subway station through the APP.
Guess that shouldn't be a big problem,
you can refer to the signboards around or brochures at anytime.
For instance, type "Myeong" in the search box.
You should get "Myeong-dong" in the drop-down search results.
Click the "play/start" button, to indicate as the departure station,
as shown above.
As we bought our ITX Cheongchun Train tickets to Gapyeong in advance,
we need to get ourselves onto the train at a station named Yongsan.
Type "Yong" in the search box.
"Yongsan" is appeared in the search results.
Click the "pause/transit" button, to indicate as the transit station,
as shown above.
Ultimately, we are dropping off at the station named Gapyeong.
Type "Gap" in the search box.
(note : I usually don't type the whole word just in case I spelled the name wrongly,
to avoid the search result appear nil.)
You might noticed that two of the search results are indeed "Gapyeong".
Then what's the difference from one to another?
Try notice the station number (shown in the brackets).
The first search result is ITX07.
The second is P134.
From what we read, it simply means this station has two station numbers,
as two types of subway train are stopping at this station.
Click the "stop/arrive at" button, to indicate as the arrival station,
as shown above.
Click on one of the search results to return to the home page.
The APP will start calculating the result for you.
And here you go.
The route is highlighted in yellow and red dots.
Station(s) indicated in red dots are those you need to be aware of transits.
So, through this APP, we know that our journey gonna take 1 hour 46 minutes travelling time,
travelling through 28 stations in total,
(may or may not, depends on which train you're taking) requires 3 transits,
and the fare is KRW2,250 with T card (KRW2,350 with cash).
Simple and easy right? :D
If you are not sure which station to transit, don't get stressed-out.
All you need is to decide on the departure and arrival station,
and let the APP do the arrangement.
With this APP, you can also plan on the T card top-up/recharge value,
cause you will know how much is the fare cost for your trip.
To-know tips while traveling with subway/metro
Tip #1 : the subway lines are indicated in different colors.
Tip #2 : the subway stations are indicated with unique station numbers.
(if you couldn't remember/pronounce the name, just remember the numbers!)
Tip #3 : by reading the subway stations numbers, you can tell the direction where the train is heading.
(i.e. ascending or descending; going forwards or backwards)
Tip #4 : by reading the subway station map available on the train, stations indicated with colorful Korean flags are those transits available.
Tip #5 : identify the Exit number before exiting. it could save you alot of time.
Tip #6 : usually there is no additional fee for transit.
Tip #7 : if its just one subway station away, try walking or sharing cab instead of subway.
Tip #8 : service commission is charged while refunding the money value in T card.
Tip #9 : some outstation subway stations are not equipped with value top-up/recharging machine.
please ensure you have enough card value before travelling.
Personal review
This APP is super useful to have good knowledge of time required when travelling by subway/metro.
And, its very user-friendly. All you need is just download it and enjoy travelling in South Korea!
And, its very user-friendly. All you need is just download it and enjoy travelling in South Korea!
Happy travelling! :)
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