Back at it again with the Bus Blog ft. Gwangju Bus Education

Hey everyone, it’s been a hot minute since my last blog post. (All for a good reason I promise.) Although most of you reading this probably already know it, for those who don’t – I was visiting home.

For the past 4 weeks, I have been residing in South Africa, visiting family and friends, and recovering from a nasty return flu and dreaded jet-lag. Now, as nice, and as lovely as that sounds (before the return flu part) – it’s not the theme of this blog. So, it will not be spoken or reminisced about. (Sorry Mom.) This blog is strictly reserved for trauma, embarrassment, and Korean bus education. The purpose of this blog is to share my bus adventures with you, so that is what I shall do. Now, if I had taken the buses in South Africa, of course I would have shared that experience with you. I mean after all; I have dubbed myself the unsolicited bus critic of today’s day and age. Whether one likes it or not, I need my critics to go beyond food and art. So I'm doing the world a favour and volunteering as tribute. ( I truly hope you all read my blogs with the same amount of sarcasm and wittiness I do when I write them.)

So why didn’t I ride the buses in South Africa? Well, let me tell you…

Firstly, I have access to a car back home – why on earth would anyone choose public transport when they have the means to drive AND have a car at their disposal. (Okay, so it’s not quite at my disposal. I had to earn my right to drive it by waking up at the ass-crack of dawn and taking my lovely mother to work each day I wanted to make use of the car. I nearly had an existential crises the first time, contemplating whether I would remember how to shift gears whilst simultaneously putting my foot on the clutch. (For all you non-manual drivers out there…. Yes you with the automatic smansy cars…. *Shamelessly side eyes you.*)

Anyway, moving passed my salty demeaner of having yet to touch an automatic, I managed to drive like it was in fact second nature to breathing. Phew.

During my time in South Africa however, I did become a lot more infatuated with our buses. Almost to the point where one would find my fascination quite comical. I noticed how they seemed a lot bigger and clunky looking than the ones in Korea – how they were all the same colours (blue and white). Whereas in Korea, buses are coloured based on their speed, routes, and stops.

Let’s get educational, shall we?

I don’t really know much about the buses outside of Gwangju. The colour schemes are a bit different but in Gwangju:

Red buses – Man oh man do I detest the red buses…They’re faster, have less stops and are usually a bit more expensive. These buses sometimes have a middle exit door; however, the larger ones make you enter and exit from the same front door – so it makes things awkward. I’m always trying to figure out just when I should get up and start walking to the door. I could risk my life and start walking while the bus is still moving, or I could wait for it to stop and then make a run for it. People should always exit before more people enter but if you’re not at the door fast enough, those entering can’t see you and then whelp, it’s awkward. These buses are usually also ALWAYS the busiest because they’re supposedly the most convenient when it comes to time efficiency. Don’t use a red number 9 or 2 on the weekends on your way downtown (Dongmyeong-dong area). It isn’t worth the crammed tin-sardine you will become.

Yellow and ‘blue’ buses – I put blue in ‘’ because the buses aren’t blue but they pop up as blue on the map apps. They’re usually yellow in actual colour. These buses are pretty standard. They have multiple stops and are neither very slow nor very fast. It honestly depends on the time of day and the direction you’re going. These buses are cheaper than the red buses. I usually opt for these guys.

Green buses – These buses are the same price as the yellow buses as far as I’m aware – but man get ready to take the journey of a lifetime on one of these (quite literally.) These buses have the most stops. On a Thursday when I have about an hour to kill after work before my Korean class, I take one of these bad boys. If I can get bus number 72 with an empty single front seat, oh baby it’s a smooth, stressless ride. I take this bus around most of Gwangju to get from A to B and it works out. But if you’re in a rush and needing to get somewhere, the green buses are not your besties.

Pictured above: The different colour buses you can find in Gwangju, South Korea.

There’s also intercity buses – but these buses are obviously not for in-city purposes and they’re usually bigger and have tinted windows. But don’t worry, you can’t accidentally get on one of these buses. They also rarely stop near the bus stops and never stop at the actual bus stops. They also usually don't have numbers on them.

Pictured above: An intercity bus in Korea

Okay educational learning over - back to the story!

So in South Africa, in my city Gqeberha, formally known as Port Elizabeth – the buses only appear to be white with a hint of blue. They are also all the same size. None are bigger, nor smaller than the other. Their numbering system is a lot different to Korea’s, but I’m also not entirely sure how it works exactly.

Pictured above: The public buses that can be found in Gqeberha, South Africa (Some of these buses appear a lot bigger in person and a lot higher up.)

Unfortunately, that’s all I came to truly observe about the buses. I wondered a lot on how the public buses worked in South Africa. Do people have bus cards or do they have to pay each time? How much is it? Is there a bus app to show me the routes? Are they displayed on the very subpar bus stops with little to no cover? I may never know but I think I will try an find out one day.

I feel very fortunate to not have to use the buses back home. The buses are few and far in-between in South Africa and I don’t doubt that using them must come at a hefty expense of time and effort from the rider, but I’m thankful Korea steps up when it comes to this. Of course they would when money is actually being supplied to facilitate these things. *stops side-eyeing the automatic car drivers and instead side-eyes the South African government.*

Humour aside, I’m sorry I took a bit of an absence. I know I don’t have some great, mighty audience anticipating new stories nor demanding them, but I do appreciate the few that have expressed a liking for this little blog.

I’m currently ‘desk-warming’ for winter vacation and this is what I’m doing to pass the time as my co-teacher slowly paces around the classroom losing her sanity. Pray for us.

Until the next stop,

Bus Blog Driver Tay