On Jan. 7 (local time), as I entered the landmark Hue Imperial City in central Vietnam, I saw about 10 JiBike electric bicycles operated by the Korean startup JiBike parked in a row. Surrounded by a 10-kilometer long city wall and moat, the fortified Hue Imperial City is too large to explore on foot. Therefore, tourists can ride buggies called tuk-tuks or JiBike bicycles to visit the main attractions.
I tried the JiBike bicycle for 70,000 dong (about 4,000 won) per hour. After adjusting the saddle height with a single touch, I began pedaling. Unlike regular bicycles, it receives extra power from an electric motor, making my legs feel lighter the faster I went (up to a maximum of 25 km/h). Even after riding for a long time, it wasn't too strenuous.
I also saw a young Vietnamese couple in traditional attire, the ao dai, riding JiBike bicycles. It seemed like another enjoyable content that had emerged for young people, akin to touring Gyeongbokgung Palace in hanbok.
Hue, which will be elevated to a centrally governed city in January next year, has been proclaiming itself as "Bicycle City Hue" and building bicycle lanes since 2022.
A total of 117 km of bicycle-only roads, motorcycle-sharing roads, and tourist bicycle lanes are planned to be established by the end of 2025, with 241 km to be completed by 2028. The bicycle-only road, which is 1 meter wide, has a green center and yellow edges, and currently, 8 km has been completed, stretching from the new public office site in To Huu Street to Nguyen Tri Phuong Street.
In line with this atmosphere, JiBike donated 20 bicycles to Hue Imperial City in February of this year to launch a pilot project, marking its official entry into the Vietnamese market.
JiBike, which received positive evaluations here, will start an electric bicycle sharing service for urban driving in Hue with a fleet of 280 bicycles starting in January next year. This will be the first electric bicycle sharing service to start in Vietnam.
The company plans to increase the number of operating bicycles to a maximum of 1,000 by the end of the year. To attract more users, it is preparing to introduce a subscription model. An additional 20 bicycles will also be deployed at Hue Imperial City in the first quarter.
JiBike has selected Vietnam as its third overseas target following Thailand (2022) and the United States (2023, in Memphis, Los Angeles, and Guam). Starting with bike-friendly policies in Hue, it plans to add 2 to 3 more major tourist cities, such as Da Nang, Hoi An, Da Lat, and Phu Quoc, to launch city-specific pilot projects next year.
Kim Tae-ho, the head of the strategy planning team for SK Group's China business and adviser to Bespin Global, who previously served as the head of the Vietnam branch, noted, "About 3.2 million tourists visit Hue annually, primarily renting motorcycles to travel, so our primary goal is to replace that. We are also planning 4-hour and 8-hour tourism programs enjoyed by bicycle."
Regarding the recent interest of various startups in entering Vietnam, Kim stated, "More important than establishing 'guanxi' (relationships) with key government figures is the 'documentation.'"
He advised, "We submit the documents required by the authorities and go through the review process to obtain business approval. It takes a long time, but having the documents provides protection and support. It is different from the Korean-style 'quickly, quickly' success formula."