ContentsView article sectionsListen to the BlogCastAbout Cycling in South KoreaMy Relationship with CyclingMy History With Cycling/BikingSmart Phone Apps for Cycling KoreaSmartphone apps that I use the mostSelecting Your Cycling Trip ItinerarySeoul to Busan Cycling TripIncheon to SokchoMake Your Own AdventureWhat Bike I RideRoad ConditionsWeather ConditionsAir QualityWhat to PackPlaces to Stay while CyclingEating While Cycling in KoreaHow I Eat During Cycling TripsWhen to Pack Your own Food For Cycling Cross-Country in South KoreaCommunication Support Help on Cycling TripsGetting Stuck and Getting HomeJoin a Cycling in Korea Facebook GroupSeoul to Busan and Beyond (SBB)Camp Humphreys Hike & BikeYou may find cycling cross-country in South Korea surprisingly doable with the proximity of towns, regular services, and extensive river bike paths. I personally think that South Korea may be one of the best places to do extended cycling trips since you can carry next to nothing and still ride for days easily. Let’s take a quick look at what riding in Korea may look like for you based on my experiences. Listen to the BlogCast Don’t want to read? Listen to the South of Seoul BlogCast which provides accessible content through the use of AI technology. We don’t have time to read each article but we do our best to make more of our content accessible. If you would like to join our Accessibility Team apply to volunteer with South of Seoul. About Cycling in South Korea South Korea loves cycling and it has its own cycling culture with many winding trails that follow the rivers all over the country. On the trails you will be riding with people on old bikes just getting from one place to another, families with kids, folks on rental bikes for the day, people on a walk, and serious cyclists. This means you always need to be looking out for others and use your bell or voice often. Off the bike trails and on the roads, you may find it rare to see another cyclist. Many cyclists in Korea prefer to keep things on the trails and close to home. This means you may be on your own if you aren’t riding from Seoul to Busan. Be prepared to navigate language and cultural differences as you ride through the Korean countryside. My Relationship with Cycling Everyone has their own relationship with physical activity. It’s important to understand how I relate to cycling and doing long trips so that you can better know how your relationship with physical activity and cycling and mine may differ. For example, I feel I just do biking and not cycling. To me, cycling implies paying money for bike-related gear and being very serious about going fast while wearing very expensive tight pants. Instead, I’m just a lady on an old bike going pretty slow, while goofing off in very cheap, tight pants. I don’t use fancy gear because I don’t have fancy gear money. I just ride my cheap bike in inappropriate shoes, the ‘wrong’ clothes, and at very slow speeds. I do this near my house and across the country whenever I get a bee in my bonnet. All this to say if you do have fancy cycling gear and you train on your bike, cycling in Korea will likely be even easier for you than for me. On the other hand, cycling in Korea may also feel more stressful to a serious cyclist than it does to me since I don’t care if my bike gets shoved into the bottom of the bus and I’m not frustrated if I can’t go super fast. My History With Cycling/Biking You should also know that I can do physically painful and emotionally complicated things happily for extended periods of time. You should know this when reading my thoughts on any grueling activity that I like to do. Growing up, in the summers I usually rode 15-25 miles a day as a form of transportation in rural Alaska. I also lived in extremely rural areas where spending 6-12 hours in a day walking, biking, hiking, or doing heavy labor was necessary for survival. Being pushed beyond my mental and physical limits is my happy place. Of course, that was decades ago and now I’m pushing 50 with a cornucopia of injuries from living that extreme lifestyle. Nowadays, I mostly lay in bed and watch Netflix or research what I’m going to eat next on Instagram except for when I decide to cycle across the country on my holiday. Also, when I put on pants I dramatically complain about it each time because they make life hard. On the other hand, if you put me into a physically impossible situation I’m going to show up and never give up (like riding my old bike across South Korea on a busted ankle). Such a dichotomy often confuses people and you should know this about me before taking any of my advice about what’s easy and what’s hard. So let’s review: Putting on pants, HARD! Riding my bike across South Korea, EASY! Now that you know what lens I have when talking about cycling, let’s get into my personal insight into cycling trips in South Korea. Smart Phone Apps for Cycling Korea First, we need to talk about the apps you may want to use cycling cross-country in South Korea. We are starting with these because each app will be talked about in different parts of this blog. If you know about them now it makes it easier to follow along. Smartphone apps that I use the most Naver Maps – I’ve always used the Naver Maps biking route feature for my trips. It’s accurate enough. However, you will still need to be ready for changes in your route based on weather, construction, etc. Additionally, Naver Maps helps you find hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, bike repair shops, and other services you need along the way. *There is an English language interface.* Baedalminja – For me, food delivery on cycling trips is life. I have no desire to leave my hotel at … Continue reading Intro to Cross-Country Cycling in South Korea