Issues of transportation

Let me tell you a few things about getting around in Seoul.

When it comes to side streets, sidewalks (or pavement, for any England-based readers I might have) are virtually nonexistent. There are plenty of sidewalks on main roads, but anywhere else pedestrians must stick to the same path of traffic as cars. In the beginning, this was a little stressful and quite a bit scary, but I'm used to it now. I've never seen any Korean pedestrian get nervous about a car driving past so close, and I think this is because walkers and drivers alike are used to it, and thus very adept at avoiding each other. No one really yields to anyone in this situation, but everyone manages to stay alive.

Second, I'd like to bring up the issue of the moped.

I. Hate. Mopeds.

In this city, pedestrians have their place and cars have their place, and while this can often overlap there is still always a distinction between person and vehicle. But mopeds are this unique beast that belongs to both categories. It's not a rare thing to see a moped roaring down the sidewalk, then crossing the street at the pedestrian crosswalk, then turning to continue down the street with the cars. They are godlike in that road rules do not apply to them - they can continue on when other cars must wait at a light, they can make U-turns, and they can switch between on-road and off-road as often as they like. It's like they've taken the philosophy of the motor-less bicycle and applied it to the moped. But I say that anything with a motor that can go as fast as a car belongs as far away from helpless pedestrians as possible.