8 Reasons Why Jihachul Beats D.C. Metro (and 2 Reasons it Doesn’t)

Don’t get me wrong, I love D.C.’s Metro (sometimes), but I have to admit that Seoul’s subway system, Jihachul, kicks D.C. Metro’s butt overall. Here’s why:

1. Stations are cleaner and brighter

Ever get the feeling you’re in a bomb shelter, but really it’s just Gallery Place? Well, it's true that Jihachul does have survival gear and can serve as an actual bomb shelter in case the North attacks (see right), but the stations are well-lit, clean and happy. In fact, it’s possible to forget you’re even a few stories below ground in a subway station here—something Metro’s dirty, concrete walls would never let you forget.

2. Glass blocking the platform from the train

I hated standing at the little yellow bumpy rubber line, feeling the rush of wind as the train whooshed into a Metro station. Maybe I’m morbid, but the thought of getting hit or falling on the tracks was often on my mind. And sadly, that happened more often than it should have, whether by accident or intent. Easy solution? Glass with sliding doors! I can stand right up by Jihachul's door with no fear.

3. Trains come more frequently, and I’ve never seen delays

At first Joe and I just thought we were lucky as we explored Seoul, hitting the subways at just the right moment to hop on the next train. We never waited more than 3 or 4 minutes. But I take the subway to and from school every weekday and I’ve never stood waiting more than 5 minutes, even at 1 in the afternoon. In D.C., I often waited 10 minutes during rush hour for an Orange Line train at Foggy Bottom. And don’t get me started on those off-hour waits!

As for delays, I won’t pour salt on continuously open wounds for you D.C. dwellers.

4. Stations aren’t nearly as crowded

Ahhh, the Red Line in downtown D.C. Where you can frequently lose yourself in a crowd of suits and watch two trains go by before getting close enough to squeeze onto one. (These pictures are on the Blue Line before Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally 4 Sanity And/Or Fear in 2010, but I've seen the red line stations look like this, and it isn't rare.)

Here in Seoul? Yes, there are a lot of people in the mornings, but I’ve never seen a sea quite as huge as Gallery Place during a weekday rush hour.

5. Built in Wi-Fi

This needs no explanation, but I will say that people watch TV on their smart phones on the subway. Yes, TV.

6. More routes and options to get from A to B

Check out this map:

It looks confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it is almost as simple as D.C.’s Metro, with A TON more routes and options. Even when/if D.C. gets the Silver Line and Purple Line, Jihachul will still be more convenient.

7. Respect for the old/injured/pregnant people

Yes, on D.C.’s Metro, people will often get up for injured or pregnant people or women with children, but Jihachul actually has a 6-seat section that no one sits in unless they are old, injured or pregnant. And this section is often full, which brings me to my next point:

8. Old people actually RIDE the subway

Have you ever seen an old person on D.C.’s metro? OK, I’m sure it happens, but here, Jihachul is the way to go—for all demographics, it seems. It's the way avoid the traffic in a city that holds about half of the nation’s population, and I always see old people on the trains during rush hour and during the off hours.

But Jihachul isn’t quite perfect. Here’s where the system scores lower than D.C. Metro:

1. Stairs. Stairs, stairs, stairs.

There are a lot of escalators and some elevators in Jihachul stations, but I only know of one that allows riders to avoid stairs altogether. In D.C., the escalators break often and take ages to fix, but if stairs are really hard for a rider, I believe there’s always an elevator, albeit a slow one with a long line.

But right now, man, I would wait in that line!

I talked in a previous blog about how difficult stairs are now that my pregnant body apparently contains extra blood and less oxygen than normal. Seriously, I swim hard core and do Zumba, but steep stairs leave me out of breath with Jell-O legs. I imagine the aforementioned old and injured people share my struggle.

2. It doesn’t go where I want it to go

What? Didn’t I just say Jihachul has so many options of where to go and routes to take? Ok, yes, true. But it doesn’t stop at Eastern Market, where I can taste and buy fresh local fruits and veggies, or where I can visit my church and see lots of close friends. It doesn’t go to Woodley Park, where I can have a girls’ night with Tara and Kate. And it doesn’t go anywhere near the Jefferson Memorial at the tidal basin, where cherry blossoms have been blooming in the last couple weeks, and where Joe asked me to be his wife.

So, yes, Jihachul wins hands down in a side-by-side comparison, but you won’t catch me complaining about taking Metro when I get to visit home (at least not for the first couple days).

Check out each system's fan video below:

My Meeting with Obama (…and 200 of my closest neighbors)

I got to shake the president’s hand!!

Two weeks ago, President Barack Obama came to town to talk nuclear security at a summit of world leaders, and happily for us, his schedule included a few minutes with embassy staff and their families.

Ahead of time, some friends and I thought there would be about 500 to 800 people there (it's a big embassy), and maybe a few of us would actually get close enough to meet the guy. AND we would have to wait about two hours in a hotel ballroom for the pleasure.

But, sigh, how could we not show up since even that distance would be much closer than most of us have been—or would ever be—to the leader of the free world?

Once we were settled, though, about 200 people were in the room, and the rope line was very long. The crowd would only be about four to five people deep! Some people planted directly at the rope line right away for a good spot and stood there for hours, but Joe and I (for the sake of my easily-tired pregnant body) mostly sat in chairs at the back of the room until the time was close. A good spot wasn't worth killing my lower back and feet over!! So I assumed we would be watching more than participating.

The president was late (understandably, as he’d just flown in and had already been to the DMZ that morning). So we stood waiting the extra half hour, Hail to the Chief and other patriotic music blaring, presumably just to tease us.


I wondered: What must it be like to walk into a room of people knowing they’ve waited hours to see you?

I think I’d feel pressured to be amazing. Or maybe I’d let it go to my head.

Whatever the president felt, though, when he walked in, none of us seemed to remember the long wait.

Wow. The president of the United States of America! Right there! In Seoul! Political leanings aside, everyone cheered loudly enough to make the ambassador laugh. “See, they can be just as rowdy as the military,” he told the president.

And, oh, what an effect on the room.

We were all feeding off each other’s excitement, I’m sure, and I don’t get star struck easily, but President Obama really does have a presence. To me, he seemed important yet humble, regal yet all-around likeable. You have to admit, he really does look presidential.

Not to say I agree with all of Obama’s policies—or all of any politician’s policies—but one thing I love about our democracy is that different people with different viewpoints get a turn to lead the nation. That’s also why I get annoyed at hyper-partisan vitriol on both sides shouting that if the other side gets (or keeps) power, the country will fail. I think every American should want every president to succeed since that’s good for the country, even if it’s bad for a certain party.

And that’s why I think it’s pretty amazing to meet the president, regardless of political camp.



Obama shared a few words of encouragement and gratitude for the diplomats’ work building and maintaining relationships and for the family members’ sacrifice of living far from home and family and country. It was what you’d expect him to say to such a group, of course, but it was still encouraging to hear him say it.

And then came the fun part.





Flanked by Secret Service agents, he walked down the rope line, shaking hand after hand after hand and yet still looking people in the eye and saying a word or two when appropriate.

I was three people back, not expecting a handshake but happy to be close to the action.

Then he was right in front of me, and somehow a window appeared at the perfect time and the perfect spot for my arm. I reached out and said, “Nice to meet you.”

“Good to see you,” he told me as he shook my hand.

I wanted to say something like: “I’m praying for you! I know you have a tough job!” but there really wasn’t time.

Joe, unfortunately, was right behind me (he’d let me go up closer, like a sweet husband) and didn’t get a shake. But it seems like most people did! Obama must have shaken 150 hands in the span of about 10 minutes, which is quite the skill—a prerequisite for being a politician, I’m sure.






On the bus ride home, the excitement was palpable:

“Did you shake his hand?!”

“Yes!”

“I did too!!”

Someone commented that the president’s 15 minutes with us had worked wonders for morale.

And it really did. It’s funny, but since we live here expressly to serve our country, meeting the president mattered to me more than I thought it would.