| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Masta_Don
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: Hyehwa-dong, Seoul
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 6:31 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| Dev wrote: |
I think it has more to do with the culture here. Japan faced the same type of situation when the bubble economy popped and real estate values plunged. Lots of taxi drivers there are ex-managers from big companies. Yet, even as taxi drivers, they remain professional. |
What?! If by refusing to even stop, how do they uphold this professionalism? I got so frustrated in Tokyo. We ended up carting our bags for about seven blocks after 20 (I was counting out of frustration) taxis passed us up. It was ridiculous. I might get skipped occansionally here but never 20 in a row. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bondgirl
Joined: 26 May 2007
Location: in my Aston Martin
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 6:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have only had good experiences with the taxi drivers here. I always leave a 2000 won tip, too.
And perhaps I come from a different mindset about driving, but I like the way they drive- Feel a bit like I am co-driver in a rally event and it frustrates me if they stop at the lights when there is no one coming. Although, CentralCali, I agree with what you said about the accelorator thing- swaying back and forth in the back of the car does give me a head and stomach ache. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Dev wrote: |
In most developed countries, taxi drivers wouldn't do this. If they did, you could call the taxi company and make a complaint. Being the foreigner with poor Korean skills, I guess they see me as someone they can treat poorly and get away with it because it's hard for me to complain. |
Not always true. Hang out in Sinchon, Jongno or Gangnam on a late weekend night and watch cabs just shoo off dozens of Korean passengers simply based on where they're going. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kermo
Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Location: Eating eggs, with a comb, out of a shoe.
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I find Korean taxi drivers can be pretty sleazy too, but since I've started a policy of only sitting in the back seat, I feel a lot safer. The more Korean I know, the more passes I get, so sometimes I just pretend not to understand anything. One guy was absolutely disgusting-- it was 8:00 am and I was sober and covered up from chin to toe, but he gawked at me and then started making lewd hand gestures. I protested because I honestly couldn't believe he was being so outrageous, but finally his intentions were unmistakeable so I shouted at him and jumped out of the taxi.
Occasionally, they're just sweet and we have lovely conversations-- they're one of the few kinds of people who will put up with my halting Korean and they often love to practise a little English too. My most memorable taxi conversation was on the way into Itaewon.
Him: 여기요?
Me: (cheerfully, as I'd just learned how to say it) 마자요!
Him: YES! ENCOURAGING SHOUTING! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bondgirl wrote: |
| I have only had good experiences with the taxi drivers here. I always leave a 2000 won tip, too. |
See, this is why foreigners in Korea have such bad a reputation for cheapness.
The proper custom is to open your wallet and let them take whatever they feel they deserve. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
regicide
Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Location: United States
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The Perfect Cup of Coffee wrote: |
The lack of service from some of the taxi drivers here probably has something to do with fully half of them being bitter and angry individuals who used to work for SAMSUNG and the big banks but were laid off after the IMF crisis.
I'd be the same way if 10 years ago I was managing millions of dollars in investment but now had to limo around some lame-ass ESL teacher with 2 bags of groceries who could barely string a sentence together of comprehensible Korean.
The customer is king! |
The International Monetary Fund bailed Korea and other countries out of their problem. The Asian Flu or crisis or something like that would better describe Korea's problem back in 1997.
From Wikepedia:
The East Asian Financial Crisis was a period of economic unrest (or financial contagion) that started in July 1997 in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai Bhat, and affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in a number of Asian countries. It is also commonly referred to as the East Asian currency crisis or locally as the IMF crisis although the latter is simply the wrong way to describe what happened and puts the blame on one of the parties who helped solve the problem, not start it.
There is consensus on the existence of a crisis and its consequences, but what is less clear are the causes of the crisis, its scope and resolution. Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand were the countries most affected by the crisis. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Laos and the Philippines were also hit by the slump. Mainland China, India, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam were relatively unaffected. Japan was not affected much by this crisis but was going through its own long-term economic difficulties.
However, all nations mentioned above saw their currencies dip significantly relative to the US dollar, though the harder hit nations saw extended currency losses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_financial_crisis |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Optimus Prime
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
"Many" taxi drivers are ex-CEO's laid off by IMF? Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhttt.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nobbyken
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Location: Yongin ^^
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Very often driving, they are the first to hoot their horn behind you:if you don't take-off from the lights within 50 milliseconds of them turning green.
But, if they have a paying customer; they will not jump a red light. 
I'm sure we all have annoying habits.
Especially nuns in Korea, must be very hot? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| nobbyken wrote: |
| But, if they have a paying customer; they will not jump a red light. |
I wouldn't bet on that. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
oskinny1
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Location: Right behind you!
|
| Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 11:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| CentralCali wrote: |
| nobbyken wrote: |
| But, if they have a paying customer; they will not jump a red light. |
I wouldn't bet on that. |
I can't think of a time when a taxi hasn't run a light when I was in the car. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
The Perfect Cup of Coffee
Joined: 17 Jun 2007
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
| regicide wrote: |
| The Perfect Cup of Coffee wrote: |
The lack of service from some of the taxi drivers here probably has something to do with fully half of them being bitter and angry individuals who used to work for SAMSUNG and the big banks but were laid off after the IMF crisis.
I'd be the same way if 10 years ago I was managing millions of dollars in investment but now had to limo around some lame-ass ESL teacher with 2 bags of groceries who could barely string a sentence together of comprehensible Korean.
The customer is king! |
The International Monetary Fund bailed Korea and other countries out of their problem. The Asian Flu or crisis or something like that would better describe Korea's problem back in 1997.
From Wikepedia:
The East Asian Financial Crisis was a period of economic unrest (or financial contagion) that started in July 1997 in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai Bhat, and affected currencies, stock markets, and other asset prices in a number of Asian countries. It is also commonly referred to as the East Asian currency crisis or locally as the IMF crisis although the latter is simply the wrong way to describe what happened and puts the blame on one of the parties who helped solve the problem, not start it.
There is consensus on the existence of a crisis and its consequences, but what is less clear are the causes of the crisis, its scope and resolution. Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand were the countries most affected by the crisis. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Laos and the Philippines were also hit by the slump. Mainland China, India, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam were relatively unaffected. Japan was not affected much by this crisis but was going through its own long-term economic difficulties.
However, all nations mentioned above saw their currencies dip significantly relative to the US dollar, though the harder hit nations saw extended currency losses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_financial_crisis |
Thanks for the macro-economic analysis dude. But I was just going by what a taxi driver told me personally happened to him. I've tried searching "taxi driver"; "South Korea"; and "IMF crisis" in wikipedia, but strangely come up with only the opportunity to create my own page.
You wanna collaborate on the macro-economics of the IMF crisis and taxi drivers in South Korea? I think I've still got the business card of the one dude who used to work for SAMSUNG. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
regicide
Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Location: United States
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| The Perfect Cup of Coffee wrote: |
| regicide wrote: |
| The Perfect Cup of Coffee wrote: |
The lack of service from some of the taxi drivers here probably has something to do with fully half of them being bitter and angry individuals who used to work for SAMSUNG and the big banks but were laid off after the IMF crisis.
I'd be the same way if 10 years ago I was managing millions of dollars in investment but now had to limo around some lame-ass ESL teacher with 2 bags of groceries who could barely string a sentence together of comprehensible Korean.
The customer is king! |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_financial_crisis |
Thanks for the macro-economic analysis dude. But I was just going by what a taxi driver told me personally happened to him. I've tried searching "taxi driver"; "South Korea"; and "IMF crisis" in wikipedia, but strangely come up with only the opportunity to create my own page.
You wanna collaborate on the macro-economics of the IMF crisis and taxi drivers in South Korea? I think I've still got the business card of the one dude who used to work for SAMSUNG. |
No, I am not interested in the subject all that much. What I am saying is that first, English is a foreign language in Korea, and therefore we are EFL teachers, not ESL teachers.
And regarding the characterzation of the Asia Flu of 1997, you are playing into the local ( Korean ) description and name by calling it the IMF crisis.
It was NOT an IMF crisis and that does not accurately describe what happened. Furthermore , it puts the blame on one of the parties that actually helped these people.
It is our language and I think we need to take charge of it and not let non-native speakers of the language control it usage. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
The Perfect Cup of Coffee
Joined: 17 Jun 2007
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Again dude, I was just going by what the taxi driver was telling me. After all, that's what the topic in this thread is about. It ain't about macro-economics or structural problems in the Asian economies, it's about taxi drivers in Korea. As my Korean co-teachers says to the students, "You are out of topic! 0 for 10!" |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Beej
Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Location: Eungam Loop
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I ride in taxis a lot in Seoul. 50% of the time the driver does not know how to get to my destination. Really Pathetic. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
princess
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: soul of Asia
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bondgirl wrote: |
I have only had good experiences with the taxi drivers here. I always leave a 2000 won tip, too.
And perhaps I come from a different mindset about driving, but I like the way they drive- Feel a bit like I am co-driver in a rally event and it frustrates me if they stop at the lights when there is no one coming. Although, CentralCali, I agree with what you said about the accelorator thing- swaying back and forth in the back of the car does give me a head and stomach ache. |
Geez...Who gives taxi drivers tips? I bet Koreans don't. I have never seen a Korean give a driver a tip. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
