Seoul train

The Seoul subway system is excellent.  And not just because it is efficient, clean and organized.  There are many such in the world. What makes this system unique, in my experience anyway, are the many little additional courtesies that are provided to the traveller.

It's pretty easy to arrive at any station and find out what line you need to take and what platform is correct.  And the doors that separate the platform from the tracks indicate very clearly where you need to stand to gain access to the train when it arrives.

But how long do you need to wait, and where exactly is the train now?  There is one screen that shows a little train-like object moving from station to station. That's cute. 

But what's cuter is the theme music every train station plays according to the imminent arrival of that particular train.  Sometims it's a Korean folk sont, sometime it's a trumpet voluntary.

And if you have to change from one line to the next, there is a way to advise you of the fastest way to make that transaction.  A relevant screen indicates the station/s from which the change is to be made, and a triangle with two numbers in it divided by a hyphen.  These indicate the car and the exit number that will allow the quickest change. 

And then alll you have to do it find the platform triangle with the right numbers in it.

Other intriguing things found in this subway system are the coin operated kiosks for gas masks should an attack be made.  The only real necessity for a gas mask would be gas, and what's most tacitly clear is that a gas attack would likely come from North Korea.  I suppose this sort of thing is just everyday common sense preparation here, much like a smoke detector or a fire extinguisher elsewhere, but I kind of expect that wearing a gas mask might not completely protect one.

But my favourite thing about this subway system? Easy. Some of the carriages have heated seats. Mmmmmm....