Where I live. Seoul by (big) numbers 1. In excess of 25.6 million people – that’s more than half of Korea’s population – live in the Seoul metropolitan area. And that population is 99% Korean: fewer than 300,000 foreigners live in Seoul, making it one of the most ethnically homogenous world capitals. 2. Seoul has built the most extensive subway system in the world. The world’s “longest multi-operator metro system by route length” boasts 19 lines, 617 stations, and a daily ridership of nearly 10 million. 3. It also has taxis that go 90 miles an hour. Known as chongal taekshi, or ‘bullet taxis’, these cabs specialise in high-speed, late-night freeway rides to outlying suburbs. 4. The city offers the fastest internet connections in the world. Last year, web-surfing Seoulites did so at an average speed of 13.3 megabytes per second, compared to the American average of 8.7 megabytes per second. This year, South Korea is also rolling out a 5G mobile internet service, capable of an astonishing one gigabyte per second. 5. Seoul has more Starbucks locations than any other city in the world: 284 and counting, compared to New York City’s 277. 6. It also boasts 38 colleges and universities and countless other institutions of higher education – which won’t surprise you if you know anything of Korea’s national obsession with grades, exams and degrees. You can get to the top three universities in the entire country on Seoul’s circular subway line alone. G
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:02:17 +0000
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