Recently, I happened to take one of the new buses in Gangnam, the commercial and residential area developed relatively recently south of the Han River.

The vehicle was a brand new model specially designed for those bound to wheelchairs. I was really glad to take that kind of bus even though I've never seen anyone in a wheelchair on the intra-city public bus line before. Nor was I sure how many of these special buses are running around Seoul.

It's quite uncommon to run into wheelchairs users on the street. In fact, I've barely seen any on the subway or intra-city buses. Every year, many people get into accidents of various kinds and degrees, with some of them ending up confined to wheelchairs. Unfortunately, most of them experience extreme inconvenience in using public transportation, so much so that many give up leaving their homes except when absolutely necessary.

Read more: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2009/04/137_43974.html

Source: The Korea Times (www.koreatimes.co.kr)