korean transportation II

So i have already talked about basic info about public transportation in korea.
but what i didnt mention is how it is like to ride one...

busses:

the worst. sure, when youre sitting with friends on a tuesday mid-morning or riding the first bus at 5:30, it isnt too bad. but when it is rush hour (&if your bus stops by a local high school, ooh...) and youre standing with folders in one hand and coffee milk in another, you better drop one of the items and cling onto a pole. some bus drivers are nice enough to wait, but most dont care if you take a seat before he starts to rush to the next stop. and busses going to more rural areas are crazier than the ones running within the cities.
my 1st bus to my elementary school wasnt too bad. most people got off at my stop (college campus, dur) so i enjoyed my coffee/strawberry milk (my breakfast), sitting. most of the times i could find a seat on my 2nd bus as well, and since i followed the bus-bus routine when i wrote my first transportation post, it wasnt too bad.

but as i started getting lazier, i took the taxi-subway-bus route. and when i got on the bus, it was usually lunch time... and my stop was couple stops after a local high school -_______-
i like my bubble. i dont like it when my bubble pops. but especially during finals week or during break (when students STILL go to school but end early), the busses are packed to the max, and some will just skip stops since they have people standing out to the doorsteps.
- you'll be surprised how many people can fit in a bus:


if youre able to avoid schools, the only big traffic day is saturday (busses going to downtown that is). i remember waiting over 30 minutes for a bus to go to downtown since 3 busses, jammed with people, skipped my stop >:0 ooh that reminds me, these busses WILL NOT WAIT FOR YOU. you know how when you see a bus coming&run to catch up? out out countless number of busses i rode during my 7-month stay in korea, only ONE stopped for me (well, the stop was right by the traffic light and it had to stop while i crossed the street). ive seen many drivers that ignored people running after it/pounding on the door at stop lights. and if you dont stand when your bus approaches, theres a big probability it wont stop. korean busses dont like to stop when they dont have to, so if you dont press the bell [when youre in the bus] or if you dont look like youre going to get on the buss, it.wont.stop.for you :)

subways:
full blast a/c during summer & heated seats in winter. thats probably why subways are jammed packed, especially in these seasons. idk if i mentioned this but unless youre an elder or pregnant, youre not allowed to sit in the seats designated for these people, unlike on busses (where you just have to give up your seat when a senior gets on). even when people are standing and these 6 seats are empty, people wont sit there o-o

in the beginning, i thought subways in daegu stopped more abruptly than the ones in seoul, but after riding around daegu for 5 months, i think i got used to it haha
- my first subway ride in daegu:



mm interesting(?) thing about korean subways: [most] subway seats have 'grooves' so exactly 7 (i think?) people can sit in one row... probably like this since most koreans are 'asian sized'
- even costco agrees:



dont you like how ive added more pictures to my post? :D
special thanks to peppermint who doesnt know i stole these pics ;)

of course, ive only lived in seoul&daegu so my opinion can be different from people living in other cities but this is my 2 cent on the topic :)