Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ABC KID]

Many foreigners are very negative in their opinions of Korean car drivers. If I briefly mention them to someone back home I usually say something along the following lines:

Korean drivers seem to be very bad. They have an attitude of everyone for themselves, almost never yield, have no patience, constantly use their horns often for no apparent reason and you have to be on your constant guard, expecting them to do something stupid at any moment.
However, for all of this somehow the whole system seems to work. Sometimes roads end up resembling something out of a movie and there are sometimes near misses and hair-raising moments and yet it is very rare to actually see a collision so maybe they are actually very good drivers in that despite all of this they don't seem to have many accidents.


What do you think? Are Korean drivers a menace or misunderstood?

[Hanson]

Korean road safety stats are not exactly glowing, if I remember correctly. Having said that, I would agree overall with your assessment.

[Bibbitybop]

To be fair, only the people who have driven in Korea for an extended period of time should be answering this question. Sure, you can see traffic while walking or riding the bus, but only the drivers who are affected by Korean's road habit truly know how they drive.

I vote they are bad drivers, but it seems to be "the way it is" and not as bad to them as it is to us. Most Koreans I know that drive, though, admit that Koreans in general are very bad drivers. Many were deathly afraid for me when I started riding a motorcycle in Seoul.

Police enforcement of laws, the lack of properly engrained defensive driving, crowded streets and the overall lack of "personal space" and lack of courtesy in Korean culture affects the dangerous roads.

[tsgarp]

The biggest problem is the lack of police enforcement. Why obey the law if it only penalizes you and not the guy who runs red lights and parks on sidewalks?

[Juregen]

The first year here, not adapting to local driving styles I had 3 minor accidents due to "cultural" differences in driving styles. Nothing more then a few bruises on the car here and there.

I never ever had any accidents in my home country, EVER.

Since then I changed my driving style "Korean style", which is to be honest aggressive and selfish. I have picked up a lot of bad driving habits in Korea, but since then i seem to have had ..... ZERO accidents.

You really have to adapt to local driving attitudes, this way you can foresee possible dangers earlier and respond timely.

[Hanson]

[IncognitoHFX]

I drove once since I've been here (a 2007 Toyota Lexus--Cha-ching!) Not very far either, only about a 20 minute drive, but I soon realized that my rural Canada driving style is no match for Metropolitan Seoul driving style.

Basically I was smoothing along like an old granny buttering a muffin, waiting in my lane to be polite by letting all the other cars who were in such a gosh darn hurry pass me first. Giving others the right of way, et cetera. Soon I noticed that if I did not start driving aggressively, I'd never get to my destination as no one was going to stop and wave me on politely. Definitely not in Canada anymore. In order to actually *move* the car, I had to cut someone else off; causing a beep riot behind me.

If you're not an aggressive driver in Korea, you are more dangerous than an aggressive driver.

[ABC KID]

[endo]

I don't drive here and am simply a passanger. but it doesn't appear to be that bad.


Especially compared to Indonesian, Thai, or Filipino drivers

[Intrepid]

I'm on the fifth year of a renewed license here, and have to agree with the "When in Rome" idea. To play it safe without "losing" to the guy trying to take my lane, I have adopted an agressive/defensive stance: watch out, but don't be anyone's biatch. In Seoul at least, no one will ever let you in, so just horn on in (literally if necessary), carefully.
Here's my question--how many of you do the window-down please-yield-to-me wave?

[sjk1128]

My bf (Korean) does the wave, and I've never understood it. He says, "It's so they'll know you want to get in." I say, "They already know I damn well want to get in. I'm in a lane that's ending and traffic is merging. My signal is on." Somehow, it makes sense to him, but I really can't understand what the waving hand means. So far, I surmise it means

Okay, I'm really determined to do what I'm doing right now, even if it's against the law or inconveniences you. I will proceed even if you plow into me and kill me, so you may as well yield to avoid the lengthy accident report time which will follow. Also, I feel a little sorry for what I'm doing so forgive me.

But somehow when I see the hand from someone else, all I can think is "f*ck you," and I just keep driving. Sometimes my bf fairly shouts, "He's waving, he's waving! Wait and let him in." It's like the wave is sacred in Korean driving, violating it the only sin.

I followed all the laws in the US, but in Korea I cut people off, run red lights, and drive perilously close to other cars. I've had no accidents yet at one year driving. Can't beat 'em, join 'em is right. If you wait to let other drivers in, they don't understand what is going on. My pet peeve: Why do Korean drivers always go all the way to the end of the on ramp and then try to force their way in, even if there's plenty of space to merge 200m back? Merging doesn't exist; they just drive to the end as fast as they can and then force their way in at that point regardless of the circumstances.

[Intrepid]

The bf hasn't explained it completely--the wave is like a humanizing gesture, and a face saved. If the yieldee waves, he both shows humanity and abases himself, and so the yielder (agressive, of course, as all drivers here are) can rationalize letting the now-lower person in.
My wife says it's just courtesy, but I'm of the power dynamic school of Seoul driving.

[Juregen]

They don't teach the function of the directional indicator on this country, they consider it an option.

[Binch Lover]

My pet peeve is the people who rush through as the light is changing to red and then block lanes of traffic because there are cars in front of them. This happens every single time at rush hour at the intersection near my house. They block literally hundreds of people to shave a minute off their time... crazy! Other people don't seem to care and just accept this. If I actually drove in this country I would have no hesitation just beeping and beeping and beeping....

[GoldMember]

This topic has been done to death.
Fundamentally the problem is this:
Korean polititians are SOB's they make the laws to suit themselves and their rich Chaebol buddies.
Here's the deal, no matter how idiotic, stupid or negligent a driver is, the poor schmuck they hit is still out of pocket to the tune of 20%.
The aholes know this so drive anyway they want, knowing the other dude will get out of the way to avoid the 20%.
If our polititians were so pathetic, plus pathetic police and judges, we'd probablly drive the same way.
End of story. No need to post on this subject any more, it comes up soo often