I never thought of Seoul as ’safe city’ until I experienced New York. I was stunned when I noticed how loosely the bikes were chained on the street in Seoul. People simply chained one of the wheels not even to any post, and no one seemed to worry if they would get stolen. I am also surprised with the noticeable increase on the number of bike riders in the city. You see everywhere high school girls and boys riding bikes after school in their uniforms. Very Asian scenery like you would see in old Asian movies or comics.
If you may know, people are paranoid with their bikes in New York as no matter how heavily you chain them, thieves find their way around to steal them. People make sure to chain every single parts like wheels, seats, or any attachments when they park, and ridiculously enough, they would even carry the seats or wheels with them when they have to run to a deli. (Funny, definition of ‘Theft’ on wikipedia shows exactly how people steal chained bikes.)
Here are some numbers on crime rates in New York versus Seoul I looked up out of curiosity. Predictably, New York shows higher numbers on every crimes BUT rape.. hah?!
Additional news on the new artsy bike racks in New York that came across to me. Nice gesture for those New Yorkers who still love to ride bikes despite the danger of stealing and roadkill!
Another interesting article on Bike Ride festival that just happened in New York. Cute how these fierce New York people can get excited with quite simple courtesy like this.
Filed under: Versus , bike, comparison, crime, culture
