How to Ride a Bicycle in Korea

This idea for a post may not be original but hopefully I can at least make it entertaining with a tiny bit of useful information. We have been here since September and have been riding our bikes to school and on the weekends for recreational purposes for about 2.5 months. Being that Suwon is quite flat, it has been a pleasure. If you rule out the unnecessarily brutal winds of the past few weeks I would say that we love riding here. Of course, there are some things to get used to while riding your bike in Korea....

1. DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING! The adage is that assuming will make an ass out of you...assuming while riding your bike in Korea might just kill you. Do not assume that the car creeping along won't speed up and clip you if you try to pass in front of it. Do not assume that the pedestrian walking towards you, who has clearly seen you for the past 15 seconds, won't rapidly change their walking direction to cross your path (kind of like a deer.) Do not assume that cars, trucks, motorbikes, or anything will not just randomly make a U-turn. And never, ever assume you have the right-of-way. 99.99% of the time...you don't.
2. Ride Assertively. Just like when you learned to drive a car.... If you are too aggressive you will cause an accident. If you are too passive and defensive, you will cause an accident. Here, if you are too aggressive, you die. If you are too passive, it will take 1 hour to ride 5 blocks. While you should not assume anything (see above), it is safe to say that drivers will accommodate you as long as they see you well in advance. Many times it can be safer to ride on the side of the road.
3. Watch out for children. I know Korea's birthrate is one of the lowest in the world, but they are everywhere. They are most prevalent while you are speeding around a corner.
4. Follow the locals. While riding your bike in Korea, you will encounter seemingly impassible construction sites. In North America, these work sites would be roped, taped, and barrier-ed off from the public with a dozen or so lazy government employees standing around to make sure you don't come close. In Korea, the construction workers are always...doing construction it seems, imagine that. It is up to the public to find their own way around. This is often not as hard as it sounds. Follow the old man riding beside you or the lady hiking in 4-inch heels. They will know what to do. It may take a little off-roading but that never hurt anyone.
5. Beware the pollution...nuff said. Breathe through your nose.
   
6. Finally, RIDE! It is very pleasurable riding bicycles here. The land is flat and the roads and sidewalks are normally very accommodating. The cool fall has been quite nice and it is great exercise. Koreans are a very warm people and will normally help you in any way they can.

Of course, we need bicycle pictures... I don't think we have any biking pictures in Korea so I will put a few from Barcelona and Amsterdam...


*update - could not find the bicycle pictures from Amsterdam...so I'll give you pictures of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and a fat lady instead. Cool? I thought so.