Pope Francis reinforced his reputation as a man of surprises during his five-day pastoral visit to Korea.

One such surprise was when he took public transportation -- the high-speed train KTX.

Instead of hopping onto the presidential helicopter, the pontiff rode the KTX to the southern city of Daejeon with about 500 passengers.

The passengers burst into wild applause when it was announced only after the departure that the pope was with them on the same train, according to news reports.

By Ro Ji-woong (jamesro@heraldcorp.com)