Using public transportation was a very big change for me. I had rarely used public transportation in Chicago, but Korea's hilly streets made it very difficult for my out-of-shape body to walk everywhere, and I decided to give it a try. After a few escorted trips and after downloading the application Naver Maps in the Apps store, I was able to completely understand the very simple and efficient transportation system. Google Maps has been forgotten and replaced by Kakao Maps and Naver as the most commonly used transportation data bases. And they are asurprisingly accurate... to the second!
T-Money cards are a big part of Korean culture. You can buy T-money cards featuring Korea's popularized K-pop idols such as BTS, TWICE or any other group you might think about. T-Moneys cards featuring cartoons such as Kakao Talks, Korea's major messaging system, mascots of the peach or bear can be found in any major store. University IDs are also added as T-Money cards in order to promote the major universities. Overall, having two or more T-Money cards of different chararacters is seen as perfectly normal, particularly to promote events such as a group's new album release or even the change of seasons. Subway spaces and entrances are also used as major cultural spaces since they are used to promote pop idols' birthdays or cultural art works or events.
