Korean Job Discussion Forums

[philipjames]

I was so angry yesterday. There's an ambulance driving down the wide main road in Gwanghwamun near Gyungbuk palace. It has its emergency siren on and makes its way through the traffic (not that anyone was moving out of the way for it, mind you) only to get stuck behind a bus at a red light. There is plenty of room for the bus to pull forward and let the ambulance past. But the f@cker justs sits there.....for at least 5-6 minutes while the ambulance is stuck (unnecessarily) behind him. I knock on his door and indicate for him to pull forward and let the ambulance through. But he just points to the red light, shrugs, and continues to sit there. So, after a lifetime of running red lights, now that someone might be dying in the ambulance behind him, red lights become sacred. I was furious. How can Koreans get away with neglecting this most basic of human courtesies. Thirty seconds can mean the difference between life and death. The f@cker sat there for at least five minutes.

And to make things worse, not one Korean approached him to tell him to pull forward and let the ambulance past. Nor did anyone get out of the ambulance to tell the jerk to move. They just sat behind the bus until he moved. Hope I never get seriously ill in Korea and require being transported to hospital by ambulance.

[Dysupes]

Did you know that it's illegal for the bus driver or anyone to not move for an emergency vehicle? They can be fined and, so I've heard, have their license suspended. I'm sure these two punishments have almost never happened though or have only happened in cases where it's a Hyundai CEO whose ambulance gets stopped. But yeah, it's disgusting but it is against the law, they all know it and they all treat it exactly the way they treat most laws: total and utter contempt and ignorance. Sad...

[Juregen]

Yeap, it seems they don't understand that someone is dying out there, and every second counts.

[Passions]

Confucius say moving bus would upset group harmony.

[saw6436]

For a true emergency take a taxi to the hospital. I kid you not. My wife works as the head surgical nurse for a 450 bed hospital. I get lots of good advice from her. Also, when I go out for a night on the town with some of the doctors we ALWAYS use an ambulance to get around town. We can easily fit 10 people in the back, drink as much as we want and the lights and sierens always move pesky traffic out of the way. Its a great way to get around when your pulling a drunk.

[mindmetoo]

[dr. love]

People using ambulances as a form of quick transportation is the reason most people don't move out of the way. There have been many exposes on Korean tv about how people in power abuse ambulances as a form of quick transport and they have become apathetic to it. The siren to many is just another noise on the street.

[Bingo]

If that's true, that is really obscene. Using ambulances for drinking outings? Doctors and nurses do this and use the siren to clear traffic? They should be locked up and disgraced. Their job is to save lives, not to endanger them by creating public cynicism and disrespect for emergency vehicles. I'll never understand this freaking country. First world my asz.

[VanIslander]

utter stupidity

[Scotticus]

[Bingo]

The medic riding in the passenger seat should be issued with a sniper rifle and given authority to shoot at any vehicle that doesn't get the f@ck out of the way. Only joking, of course, but there should be (at the very least) cameras mounted on the top of ambulances and fire trucks. Anyone who doesn't move should be prosecuted, have their driving licence revoked and their car impounded.

[Ukon]

[Suwoner10]

[GoldMember]

Van Islander, you should not say such bad things about Korea such as "Utter Stupidity", you'll upset the Korea apologists such as Captain Korea.

It's not "Utter Stupidity", let's put a positive spin on it.

Letting people die is called "Maintaining Harmony".

It is us Foreigners who are stupid, by pulling over to make way for an ambulance we are "Upsetting Harmony".

Now let's all be Harmonious, and give everyone an A+, let everyone win the lottery, and smile nicely at the SOB who ran the red light and got within 2 cms of smashing your kneecaps.

[normalcyispasse]

The first time I tried to yield to an emergency vehicle, I nearly needed one myself as the person to my right was actually trying to cut IN FRONT OF the vehicle coming down the street.

Good job!