IT'S SUMMER TIME, AT LEAST HERE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.
AND FOR MANY, THAT MEANS SUMMER VACATION.
IN KOREA, THOUGH TOURISTS HAVE TWO NEW OPTIONS: A PAIR OF SLOW-MOVING TRAINS THAT TAKE VISITORS
TO REMOTE AREAS OF THE COUNTRY.
HOW SLOW THESE TRAINS MOVE, I DON'T KNOW, BUT IN THIS ON ASSIGNMENT REWIND, VOA'S STEVE
HERMAN TELLS US ABOUT HIS OWN RIDE ON THE TRACKS.
LET'S START WITH SOME OF HIS REPORT.
ON THE O TRAIN, KORAIL ATTENDANT BAECK DA-EUN EXPLAINS THAT THOSE ACCUSTOMED TO HIGH SPEED
RAIL TRAVEL WILL EXPERIENCE A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF PACE AND STYLE DURING A RIDE ON
WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE SPINE OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA:
"WHEN PASSENGERS BOARD FOR THE FIRST TIME, AT FIRST THEY ARE AWED BY THE TRAIN'S EXTERIOR
DESIGN AND THE INTERNAL DÉCOR."
SOME PASSENGERS DISEMBARK TO STRETCH THEIR LEGS AND WATCH A GROUP OF FARMERS.
OTHERS REMAIN ON BOARD, WAIVING TO THOSE WORKING IN THE FIELD, AND STRIKE UP A BRIEF CONVERSATION.
"LET'S GO EAT SASHIMI AFTER I FINISH WORK HERE!"
THESE TWO TRAINS ARE REALLY THE FIRST TRAINS PURELY DESIGNED FOR LEISURELY TRAVEL.
WE HAVE IN THE CITY OF SEOUL, OF COURSE WE HAVE A SOPHISTICATED SUBWAY SYSTEM WITH LOTS
OF COMMUTER TRAINS, AND THERE ARE THE K-T-X HIGH SPEED TRAINS TO TAKE PEOPLE FROM ONE
BIG CITY TO ANOTHER.
BUT THESE ARE REALLY TRAINS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED PURELY FOR TRAVEL.
AND THE V TRAIN ONLY TRAVELS AT AN AVERAGE SPEED OF 30 KILOMETERS PER HOUR OVER ITS 28
KILOMETER COURSE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN BUNCHEON AND CHORWON STATIONS.
AND THE WINDOWS ARE VERY WIDE AND LONG, AND YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE SCENERY LIKE YOU'RE
NOT GOING TO REALLY SEE FROM A TRAIN ANYWHERE ELSE IN SOUTH KOREA.
SO BASICALLY WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING ARE LARGELY TRAINS TO NOWHERE THAT MOVE SLOWLY.
SO WHAT'S THE APPEAL OF TAKING THESE TRIPS?
WELL, THE APPEAL IS REALLY TO SAVOR THE VIEWS OF THE NATURAL ROCKS AND CLIFFS ALONG STEEP
VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS.
IF YOU'RE IN A HURRY, DO NOT TAKE SOUTH KOREA'S NEWEST TRAINS.
THE ELECTRIC FOUR-COACH O TRAIN, RUNNING FOUR TIMES DAILY, CIRCLES A FIVE HOUR, 257 KILOMETER
COURSE WITH STOPS AT 13 STATIONS.
THE THREE-COACH V TRAIN OPERATES THREE TIMES DAILY ON A 70 MINUTE SHUTTLE BETWEEN TWO RURAL
STATIONS 28 KILOMETERS APART.
WHO DID YOU MEET ON BOARD?
WHO WAS TAKING THIS?
IT REALLY WENT ACROSS ALL AGES.
WE WENT OUT ON A WEEKDAY SO I DON'T THINK WE SAW AS MANY CHILDREN AS MIGHT NORMALLY
BE ON TRAINS ON WEEKENDS.
IN FACT, THERE WAS A GROUP OF ELDERLY PASSENGERS WHO WERE ALL OUTFITTED WITH THEIR HIKING GEAR.
I'LL TELL YOU, I'VE CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN OR TWO HERE IN SOUTH KOREA AND PEOPLE WHO WERE
IN THEIR 70'S WERE JUST BREEZING PAST ME ON THE ASCENT.
KOREANS ARE VERY HEARTY HIKERS AND THEY'RE IN GREAT SHAPE, SO I THINK FOR SOME OF THESE
PEOPLE IT WAS A CHANCE TO GET OUT TO THE COUNTRYSIDE AND GET OFF THE TRAIN AND GO INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE
AS WELL.
STEVE, YOU'RE SPEAKING TO US IN SEOUL.
YOU WORK THERE A LOT; THAT IS A 24-HOUR CITY, CONSTANTLY ABUZZ, MADDENLY FAST.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU TO TAKE THE FIVE HOURS THAT IT TAKES TO GET ON ESSENTIALLY
THIS VERY SLOW, PROBABLY PRETTY QUITE TRAIN?
WELL, WE ACTUALLY WENT ON BOTH TRAINS.
DEPARTING FROM SEOUL STATION AT 7:45 IN THE MORNING ON THE O TRAIN AND THEN JOURNEYING
OUT FOR A FEW HOURS TO CATCH THE V TRAIN, AND THEN RETURNING ON THE O TRAIN, GETTING
BACK INTO SEOUL AT ABOUT 10:30 AT NIGHT, SO IT WAS A VERY LONG DAY.
BUT IT WAS EXTREMELY REFRESHING JUST TO GET OUT OF SEOUL, WHERE I SPEND MOST OF MY TIME,
AND JUST BREATHE IN DEEPLY SOME FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR.
THAT WAS REALLY THE HIGHLIGHT FOR ME.