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Although each station of the
Seoul Metropolitan Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area inc ...
differs, most share certain characteristics. Stations range in size, from tiny local stations to large transportation hubs.


Subway exit/entrances

Outside each station, entrances are marked with a tall
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
that has the station's name and station number printed on it below a small subway logo. Inside the station exits are marked with the uniquely translated "Way Out" and is assigned a number, depicted on signs in black with a black circle around the number. Station exits can be a significant distance away from each other at ground level, so it's important to know the exit number you want to take. Every station has detailed maps of the station and surrounding area showing the locations of each exit. Emergency exits are marked with a
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
sign that depict visually a person running out of a door.


Main area

The main area of any station has a ticket counter where tickets are purchased and T-Money transportation cards are recharged. A row of automatic ticket dispensing machines offer tickets. There had been ticket-sellers, at every station, but to cut expenses and protect the environment,
Korail The Korea Railroad Corporation ( Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, manag ...
abolished paper tickets. Since then, people who do not have T-money have to get plastic electronic tickets from the machines. When you arrive at your destination, there are also refund machines, which return \500, that you paid with your ticket price. Maps above the ticket dispensing machines explain the cost for each destination in the system; prices are charged by how far the user rides. These main areas of the station are often decorated with art, and often feature a fish tank. Also, a "
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
" area is common, with books and chairs for people waiting to meet someone. Each main area leads to at least one ticket gate. In order to enter or exit ticket gates, riders must insert a ticket, or scan a T-Money card against the card pad.


Accessibility of stations

Travel around stations for
visually impaired Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...
riders is enhanced by a guided path. These paths are usually bright
yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In th ...
, but range in color and can be seen in other colors such as
silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
, as well. The path is raised, allowing visually impaired riders to follow the path to the exit or the train. For riders needing
wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), ce ...
access, many stations have
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They ...
s, marked with a special symbol, or devices that allow wheel chair users to ride up and down stairs.
Korean Braille Korean Braille is the braille alphabet of the Korean language. It is not graphically-related to other braille scripts found around the world. Instead, it reflects the patterns found in hangul, and differentiates initial consonants, vowels, ...
can also be found at the base of stairs, in front of
restrooms A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...
, and some other places.


The station platform

Around one foot from the edge of platform, the floor is marked with a yellow safety line (usually bumped, as described above). Along this line, the locations of each doorway of each carriage are marked with 3 arrows or triangles. The central triangle indicates that disembarking passengers should leave from the center of the door, while the two arrows on the sides indicate that boarding passengers should form two lines at the sides while waiting for the train. Although
courtesy Courtesy (from the word ''courteis'', from the 12th century) is Gentleness, gentle politeness and Royal court, courtly Etiquette, manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. Hist ...
requires riders to wait for exiting passengers before entering the train, it is not uncommon for this to be somewhat ignored. Each boarding location is also numbered with the carriage and door number, and passengers use this information to position themselves at the ideal location for transferring to another line, or their desired exit at their destination station. Recently
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
concerns have increased precautions against any attacks. Larger stations have cabinets with disposable
gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mas ...
s, and a new phone has been installed. The phone has two buttons, the red button connects directly to the emergency response system and the green button connects to an information service. Platform walls are marked with a thick line, of the color of the train line, along with the name of current, next (and sometimes previous) station and an arrow indicating the train's direction. Each station also has a unique number, and its name, written in
hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...
, Roman characters, and
Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
s. If the rider can transfer to another train line, that color is represented as a thinner horizontal stripe above, or below, the station's color.


References


See also

* T-money transportation cards * Seoul Metropolitan Subway rolling stock {{Seoul