I commuted by motorbike in Seoul from 2001 to 2005. I went from near Seoul Station to COEX, there in the mornings and back in the afternoons. At first, for a few months, I scooted about on a Daelim VS 125. Very mushy. It was an old delivery guy's bike. It wasn't cutting it. So I upgraded to a Hyosung GV 250, new. Very nice.
I parked next to the delivery guys; I was the only "salary man" who commuted by motorcycle. As a non-Korean, I was expected, if I were to ride a bike, to at least get a BMW or Harley. But no. I rode the Hyosung. I loved it.
It had floor boards, both fore and aft, a big back rest for the girlfriend and a rear rack for luggage. I installed a batwing fairing to keep the wind off and cardboard soft luggage to carry the tool kit. (Always carry your own tool kit.) I had canvas sewn into the inside of the front crash bars to protect my boots from detritus. I had foam gauntlets for the winter. I did have heated grips, but the wiring was always funny. I commuted in monsoon summer rains, bitter winter winds and, of course, the beauty of spring and fall.
Seoul delivery men taught me how to ride. I had never ridden in North America. I learned the motorcycle rules of the road from the delivery guys of Seoul streets. It was awesome. Nipping between lanes, or between a curb and stuck traffic, watch out for taxi doors opening into your pathway. The girl screamed and fled back into the taxi, clutching her handbag. I grabbed the front break, hard to the grip. The nose dived. The rear locked. She slammed the door shut, panicking that a foreigner on a bike almost mushed her into a taxi door. I made it. I rolled by, only slightly clipping the taxi's mirror with my own.
Use the sidewalks: good way around jammed traffic. Also, sidewalks are our unlimited parking spaces. Always park as close to the front door of your office building as you can get. The other suckers can take the subway or park way underground.
Use the bus lanes, especially heading along Chongno or anywhere south of the Han. They're the best way around traffic.
Also, use buses to run cover for you as you speed through intersections. If a bus is on your left, no one's going to be hitting you from the left, and anyone from the right is going to be watching out for the huge bus. Think small fish next to whale. But never, ever, get between a bus and the curb. The bus drivers will pull over instantly to pick up a passenger. Very dangerous for you to be stuck between.
Cruising around the Namsan ring road is always nice. You can ride your bike right up to the bottom of Seoul Tower.
The lower-level of the Yongsan-Kangnam bridge (which goes to the express bus terminal) is nice: it floods in the spring.
Motorcycles, and foreigners, are not immune to the alcohol road checks. I was always stopped, and breathylyzed, just like anyone else. A few times, I was able to cruise through the roadblock unchecked, but that's generally frowned upon.
You don't need to stop if a cop waves you down, also.
I toured the East Sea road. You can get out of Seoul and head up toward Kangweon Province. Try the ddakgalbi in ChunCheon. Delicious. You can also put your bike on a ferry that cruises the ChunCheon lake/ dammed river. The mountains are stunning. Stop at the mountain pass overlooking Samchok. Beautiful view of the East Sea. It takes about 10 or 11 hours from the North Korean view point down to Pohang and Pusan. You can do it in a day; I'd normally stop for the night somewhere.
Along the west coast, try to get down to North CheonLa Province. The Yellow Sea is very shallow and there are some good beaches there, crammed in the summer.
I've done ferries to Cheju from Pusan, Wando and Incheon, all with my Hyosung strapped down in the hull next to the trucks. Any of the ferries are nice. The center road that bisects Cheju east-west is the nicest. Avoid the ring road: too many tourists.
The southern islands between Mokpo and Pusan are nice, too.
Anyway, good article.
-gceaves
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Portland, OR
Triumph Bonneville (green) (2007)
