I just came across Seoul Sub→urban, an interesting blog project whose writers, a trio of American expats, aim to explore Seoul one subway stop at a time. The project is ambitious in both its scope—there are 447 Seoul Metro stations within city limits—and its level of detail.
(Incidentally, this reminds me that I should write my delayed post about the Seoul subway system.)
Here's an excerpt from the blog:
The Seoul subway system is the third busiest in the world, serves over 6 million passengers a day, covers 755 kilometers, and has 447 stations. But how many of those stops does the average person ever use, whether they’re an expat or a lifelong Seoulite? How many of the surrounding neighborhoods do they ever see? We use the station near our home, the one near work, and a few others near where we regularly go out, shop, or eat. But what if we just picked a random station and went there? What would we find?
Every week we’ll pick a new subway stop, go there, and check out the neighborhood. (For practicality’s sake we’ll be limiting our scope to stops within the Seoul city limits.) We’ll try to turn up an interesting restaurant, bar, shop, or two; check out local attractions, architecture, and history; attempt to get a feel for the pulse of the neighborhood; and, if possible, get a local resident to share the area with us. Then we’ll report back here.
We've each spent about three years living in Seoul on and off, so while we're not novices to the city we’re also not assuming to make this a comprehensive representation of Seoul’s myriad neighborhoods. (If you want a more informed look at the city's culture, food, fashion, or history you'd be well-advised to check out some of the links below.) This is, first and foremost, an excuse for us to explore and get to know a city we love and to get beyond the Hongdae-Itaewon-Jongno-Gangnam loop. We hope that by doing that for ourselves, and by providing a compelling visual and written portrayal of the city, that we’ll encourage some readers to do the same.
It’s a big city. Get on the train.
