Beijing VS Seoul

Arrival/Departure: Both cities have clean, new airports that are well-designed and well-marked in English. Both have shiny new airport express trains that tie into the subway system. Immigration, etc, was similarly navigable. When I left baggage claim, no one even checked my claim stub, so I should have picked up some nicer stuff.

Subway: Seoul's subway trains are color-coded, e.g., a 2 line train will have green trim; Beijing maps aren't even sure what color the lines are--some maps show the airport line in yellow, some have 13 line in yellow.
Seoul's subway exits are clearly marked with a number; Beijing subway exits use a letter system.
Seoul subway prices are determined by the distance you travel, with a base fee of 900 W (USD 0.62); Beijing subway charges 2 Yuan per trip (USD 0.29).

First Impression: Both cities are large, bustling metropolises with modern infrastructure and massive skyscrapers. I knew Seoul would be a capitalistic, cosmopolitan city, I was surprised the extent to which Beijing is.

Geography: Seoul is built into the valleys and onto the sides of a dozen mountains, such that anyplace you go is uphill--both ways; Beijing is as flat as a kimchi pancake.

Vistas: In part because of this geography, any direction you look in Seoul you are almost guaranteed to see three things: craggy mountain peaks, high rise apartment blocks, construction cranes; since Beijing is so spread out, no two views are all that similar

Cleanliness: In Beijing, every city block seems to have one or two of the items below; in Seoul, you can walk a mile looking for one, or simply add your trash to the nearest pile of garbage bags on the sidewalk.


Orderliness: Seoul often seems chaotic, but people almost always follow the pedestrian Walk/Don't Walk signs, for instance, and jaywalking is uncommon; Beijing pedestrians actively ignore the signals, and two sets of fences are required on main arteries to prevent vehicular genocide.

Crosswalks: Both cities have pedestrian bridges or skywalks (below is a view from one to another next to the Capital Museum); however, Beijing also has lots of underground crosswalks, espeically in the central area around Tiananmen.


Taxis: In Beijing, most drivers are surrounded by a cage, something I have not seen in Seoul; Seoul cabbies start the meter the instant they take off, but Beijing hacks may go a third of a block before doing this. They can't speak English in either city.

Toilet facilities: While squat toilets are still a common occurrence in Seoul public facilities, they are ubiquitous in Beijing; further, bars and restaurants often provide the following guidance, and often more graphically: