Korean Job Discussion Forums

[safeblad]

As my dad was a taxi driver (retired a few weeks ago) i obviously dont think they are all scum, though i dont think highly enough of them to give them a ridiculous 2000 tip like bondgirl.

I have also only had good experiences with Taxi drivers, except for the times when i have returned to Jeju from Seoul and get driven round the block because they think I am a tourist. ('kwan kwang animnida!!)

Taxis are the only place i get to practise my rudimentary korean, just this morning i was having a '''conversation''' with a taxi driver who was asking me for some reason if my girlfriend had a husband back home

The best times Ive had in the taxi have been driving over the crazy mountain roads full of chicanes in Jeju and the driver just taking the road like a zen master racing driver, perfect line every time.

[Summer Wine]

[nautilus]

Avoid taxis! is one of the basic lessons of Korea. Because most of the drivers are tools. There are exceptions, but most come under these categories:

Types of taxi driver

1) Formula 1 driver: He will drive like a bat out of he*l to impress the foreigner, taking unnecesary risks. Dangerous.
2) The long-way round driver. He assumes you don't know the way and tries to go the long way in order to rack up cash.
3) Allergic to the meter: He says the meter isn't working or something similar, and will only bargain a price before taking you anywhere.
4) Pervert: this only applies to women passengers, but apparently they get too friendly too fast..
5) The overshoot driver He just cannot stop when told to, but drifts on further making all sorts of extra unnecesary maneouvres to get another 200 won up on the meter.
6) "Ignore" driver. He just ignores foreigners and won't pick up non-koreans.
7) Not far enough driver. He will drop you short of where you are going because he doesn't want to turn down the side road, or something similar. You will be left with a 500m walk to your door.
Overly clean driver: His taxi is utterly spotless, he spends hours each day cleaning it. Do not eat or drink in his car, in fact don't even breathe.
9) Multiple passenger driver. He maximises profits by picking up extra passengers along the way that are going in roughly the same direction. because they're korean he will drop them off first, and waeguk will foot the bill, after taking a massively zigzaggy indirect route to the destination.

All in all...a shower of idiots. Unless you speak enough korean & get angry enough to keep them in order.

[JongnoGuru]

There are a few more... probably don't warrant inclusion as specific "types", and their idiosyncrasies don't affect their driving much, or the fare. But they're quite common nonetheless:

Gabby Drivers: These come in various models, such as...

The Interrogator: For the entire ride, it's "What's your nationality, age, marital status, # of K-GFs on the side, job, income, when do you plan to leave Korea, why are you taking taxis, don't you have a car?" etc.

The Trouble-on-the-Homefront Guy: He's not talking to you, but he's on the phone constantly to various in-laws & outlaws because there's marital friction or someone's in hospital or there's scary financial problems or whatever. These guys are COMMON. Whether you can eavesdrop and understand it or not, they're too shook up to notice or care.

The Wheeler-Dealer: Oh man. From the second you get in, it's clear these dudes are just driving a taxi as a part-time hobby. Calls coming and going non-stop, jotting numbers down, barking orders at people, "Send this here! Send that there!" Rinky-dink stuff like a small car park or some MLM scam-type home-based business. Their cabs are just mobile offices, and it's always like "Yeah, once I get rid of this fare I'll be back to sort that *beep* out!"

The God-Botherer: They have the praying-girl postcard stuck somewhere on the dash, they smile more than a Nork at a "We Love Labour!" rally, they ask if you know God, and it's wall-to-wall church music or fiery sermons by *their personal* God Guy. On audio cassette. Along with the Korean ESL study-aids industry, the Korean God Guy industry is the only thing on Planet Earth keeping cassette makers in business.

[purple_buddha]

Nice summation, nautilus.

I've had some nasty dealings with several taxi drivers.

Incident number one: Coming home late from a Korean friend's apartment on one of the coldest nights of the year, the driver didn't know where I lived (not even the neighborhood) after my friend explained in detail how to get there. The driver assured him he could find my apartment; so, I got in the cab, and he sped off. 15 minutes later he pulled over, told me to get out of his taxi and demanded 8000 won. I explained in the best Korean I could at the time that this wasn't my apartment or neighborhood. He didn't care and kept screaming for his money. I, refusing to pay, jumped out, ran away to avoid reprisal, and walked 45 minutes to my apartment in -15 degree Celsius.

Incident number two: I took a taxi from a friend's in Incheon to my apartment in Bucheon. I negotiated the fare at 10,000 won, which would have been close to the meter anyway. When we arrived near my place, he demanded 12,000 won. I told him we agreed to 10,000; he explained there was a 2,000 won surcharge for crossing into Bucheon from Incheon. I retorted that he knew the destination before we left and agreed to that price. After handing him 10,000 won, he started yelling profanities and racial slurs at me; I vaulted out of the cab and proceeded home.

Incident number three: Just after our wedding, my mom needed to fly back home out of Incheon. My wife, who's Korean, negotiated with a local driver to take her to the airport. She was explicit about which airport. The driver agreed to a price and my mom and I got in the taxi.
Spotting the local airport bus stopped in traffic near Bucheon Stadium, he flagged the bus driver down and had him pull over to the side of the road. He then insisted we get out of the taxi and take the bus. To make matters worse, he demanded the 25,000 won my wife had negotiated, saying he thought we were going to Gimpo Airport. Liar! I gave him 5000 won, which was fair for where he had taken us, and he threatened to call the police.
Meanwhile, the bus driver told us we had to get on the bus at that moment or he was leaving. Luckily, my mom had her suitcase with her in the backseat. I grabbed it and hurried my mother, who was in shock (Uh, what just happened? --He's trying to f*** us over.), onto the bus as the taxi a$$hole was shaking his fist and yelling obscenities.

I use taxis very sparingly nowadays, but my Korean is adequate enough not to get screwed when I do. I'd rather take a bus, the subway or walk.

[tigerbluekitty]

So far my experience with taxi drivers have been alright.. At first they think I'm a Korean, but when they find out I'm from the U.S. they either become quiet or try to chat with me in English. But all in all, I always keep a smile on my face, so they feel comfortable. Thankfully none of them hit on me. Some of them ask a few questions about English or English grammar, which I don't mind helping with given the short amount of time for the ride.

There were a few times though when taxi drivers would try to take advantage of my foreign-ess by purposely taking the long way or getting stuck in traffic to rack up extra charges. Once, a normally 2,000won ride ended up being 8,000won cuz the driver purposely made wrong turns!! Boy that really got me reeling, so I said angry in english "This ride only EE-chonan!! But YOU PAL-chonan!!" He then got the message and said "OK OK, EE-chonan." Yeah, thought so. Tried to rip me off!

[Are they the lemmings]

[Qinella]

Overall I think taxi drivers are pretty cool. They can be fun to talk to sometimes, as long as they're not doing the standard list of questions. But when I'm on my scooter they are my worst enemy. Them, and women. And Koreans.

[JongnoGuru]

[Are they the lemmings]

[Young FRANKenstein]

[sojourner1]

Yea, there are so many taxis in Korea to the point where every other car or most cars are taxis as often is the case. And fares are cheap due to plentiful supply of drivers, while much of the time taxis don't have passengers.

How do they make enough money here?

[ella]

When you go through a toll booth, the passenger pays the toll, right? What about when there was a non-toll route of equal length that the driver could have taken?

Also, why do they get so upset if they have to turn around? When I have a half a dozen grocery bags it's easier for the car to carry them through a U-turn than it is for me to lug them across a busy 6-lane street.

[crazy_arcade]

[Young FRANKenstein]