Échappée Seoul
Seoul, even though it is a modern city in many ways, has also successfully preserved much of the traditional architecture from previous eras.
The best day on a bike in Seoul is to go for a quick 50Km ride through the hearts of the capital, where the old and the new coexist in harmony.
The most popular ride among the Seoul cyclists is a route called Namsan-Bukak.
It is a route that passes two hills while also taking you through the middle of what could be considered 'Metropolitan Seoul' and then along by the presidential residence. The roads are mostly well maintained with plenty of bike paths.
Riding the route during the night is quite something with the views of the city all around you.
There’s a river called the Han that runs straight through the city.
This river, as well as all the smaller streams that connect to it, have bike paths along them which makes navigating through the city convenient as well as lots of fun.
I usually go for shorter rides during the winter, the weather can get pretty nasty.
I think the safety is the key.
Pedestrians and cars don’t usually look out for cyclists, so we have to be extra careful here in the city. Looking further ahead of the traffic and having a mindset that things can go wrong at any minute is critical.
It is a city styled with the old
And full of the new.
The Dongdae-mun district never sleeps.
The past and the future co-existing.
Like anywhere else, a bike in Seoul is freedom.
Dongdae-mun has a shopping district that’s open for 24 hours. There are a lot of eateries around this area, a lot of life.
My favorite street food is ‘Tteokbokki’. It’s a rice cake dipped in spicy sauce.
You can easily find a street venue that sell Ttokbokki around the city and I stop by when I’m riding quite often. It's the perfect energy boost.
Insa-dong is my favorite neighborhood. This is one of the neighborhoods of Seoul that still possess the traditional architecture from the early 1900s.
All the road signs are written in Korean instead of usual English letters. Even Starbucks have signs in Korean letters which reminds me of the value of our own letters.
