Go Karts Korea! Updated: DIRECTIONS

JRS Sprint Kart Track

Hello Again,

Yesterday was Children’s Day here in Korea, so we had the day off.  I’d heard rumors of go-karting here in Seoul and so I decided to try my luck around the old Olympic Sports Complex, which is down by the Han River.  I scoped out the track on Google Maps and sure enough, my hard work paid off.  I arrived at the JRS Sprint Kart Track at around noon and ended up spending the whole day there.  There is a rental shop which let’s you take out standard, 20mph, go-karts for a pretty reasonable fee.  After spending lots of time (and money) out on the track, the owner let me take out a full-blown racing kart, called a Sprint Kart.  In the picture below I’m braking as I enter a tight, left-hand, hairpin.  That little kart has a 40bhp, 2-stroke motor that will take it up to 80 miles per hour and in the turns the kart will pull 1.5 g; which is more than most sports cars will generate!  It felt so good to be driving again and in the end I was almost as fast as the “regulars,” one of whom was driving another Sprint Kart at the same time this photo was taken (in fact I overtook him when he spun-off going through the same hairpin).  I’m definitely going back this weekend, and Karting (which is what they call Sprint Kart racing) is really fun.  Although the track is short, the driving is actually very similar to real racing, and lots of F1 drivers (including Schumacher, Massa, and Hamilton) either got their start in karts or still practice in karts.  If you get a chance, and there’s a track nearby go and see if you can’t take a few laps in a Sprint Kart.  It’ll be worth your effort!

Cheers,

Dickie

PS, DIRECTIONS:

For those of you in Seoul who are interested in going to the track, it’s easy:  Take the Green Line (line 2) and get off at station 218, SPORTS COMPLEX.  Walk out Exit 5 (or 6) and turn and walk LEFT.  Walk past the Baseball Stadium (it will be on your right) until you get to a stoplight.  Take a right at the light (you want to be on the left side of the street).  Walk and walk, past the stadium (which will still be on your right).  You should be walking towards the Old Olympic stadium.  Down to your left should be a huge parking lot, with a little river on the other side.  Eventually you’ll want to go down one of the numerous flights of steps (I’d say the second), into that parking lot.  Once you are down there, keeping heading in the direction you were going (you’re actually walking towards the Han).  Assuming you did it right, the Go Kart Track will be the last thing, at the end of this big parking lot (full of buses), before you reach the Han.  It will be difficult to miss, as it takes up the entire end of the parking lot and it’s noisy.  They don’t run on rainy days and it is about 15,000 Won for about 15 or 20 minutes of regular go-karting.  Sprint kart is around 30,000 Won for about 10 minutes.  Mr. Lim is the owner and the number is 02)420-3886.

This baby has 40bhp and will go 80mph!

 

From Line 2, Sports Complex Station, to the Go Kart Track. That is the little river on the left, the Han River is just out of sight, at the top of the map.