Korean Job Discussion Forums

[matko]

A lot of people post about how they see bad westerners behaving in Korea when they are drunk.

Koreans don't get drunk and make fools of themselves?
Korean taxi drivers have NEVER had a problem with a Korean fare?

What are the chances that a Korean taxi driver has a had more problems with Koreans than with visible minorities? HMMMMM

Yet they sometimes refuse to pick us up because we have different skin color.

Guess what that's called?

I don't care about your stories about how western taxi drivers do the same. They are both wrong.

STOP apologizing for RACIST and WRONG behaviour!

[crazylemongirl]

I find it hard to get a taxi, alone, with a group of people. it sucks, as I live incheon. You'd think it was the ends of the earth. I get quoted fares of 40-50won for a ride that's 12k on the meter from hongdae.

Cunning tactic. Hide while you get a korean to negotiate the fare and destination then waygooks clamber in with the korean.

clg

[Tiger Beer]

[khyber]

live in a small city in Busan.
I tend to give taxis the benefit of the doubt, though in my town, the drivers have a reputation of being TOTAL assholes.
Still, had no real problem....maybe only 15 foreigners in my town makes it easier.

[crazylemongirl]

ha next time I'm hongdae we'll swap taxi drivers.

clg

[bjonothan]

In almost three years of being in Korea, I have had a few taxi drivers that were bad. But I reckon that they are the best ones to learn Korean from. I have walked into shops and said hello in Korean and they have applauded. I hate that. Taxi drivers sometimes get a shock when I get in and tell them where to go and when they look back and see I am a foreigner. But in general I think it is fair to say that as an Australian we all have our fair share of "tossers" in cabs. I was a cabbie in Aus. at one point too, and in a job where you have a set amount to make, then you sometimes drive to the person who looks more likely to keep you on a good roll. After driving for a while you can see what people are going to be like just before or just after they get in. I drove past heaps of people and when they abused me I thought "I am glad I never picked that ****head up!"

[Cthulhu]

[Harpeau]

I've had pretty good experiences with taxis. The only exception is around Kangnam, Hongsae, etc. if not going relatively far. Had a few problems at the airport years ago, but have learned to use the KNTO hotline. I'm surprised that many are having the language barriers with the interpretation hotline telephone sitting there, waiting to be used.

I've been in Korea for 61/2 years and I've noticed an amazing improvement in the taxi drivers' driving skills. I also enjoy chatting with most of them. If I've received good service, I try to leave a little tip. I find that will help encourage him/her to maybe pick up the next foreigner he sees.

Speaking a little Korean helps. words like:
waynjeuk -left
oranjeuk -right
chickchin- straght
yoggi yoggi- here (??)
The proper pronuciation of your home address, some visible landmarks, subway station, gu, dong, etc. also help. (Not to mention having a Korean wife!

Sometime's help. )

Anyway, I like the taxis. H&T advice is awesome, if don't come accross as looking like a drunken freak, then you'll get a ride soon enough.

Cheers!,
Harpeau

[Homer]

[Mr. Pink]

In 7yrs I have seen it all when it comes to taxis.

My first 3yrs I would take them everywhere, they were sooooooo cheap back then.

Only get passed by when some f-ck 10 meters down jumps out of the sidewalk, onto the street and steals an empty cab from me. (This happens a lot - and these pricks need to be shot for taking a cab from me!!!)

If the cabs have people in them, I usually don't have luck scoring them. If they are empty, never been turned down, and as I said I used to take them everywhere.

Some drivers are INSANE, I have two rides that I probably won't forget. The first one was when my brother came to Seoul, we were taking a cab somewhere the guy came within an inch of having an accident, he was driving WAY too fast, and we came into heavy traffic...breaks get hit full throttle, my bro and me slam into the front seats, I look, we are like an inch from the car infront of us...was a very close call.

The second ride was going to Incheon Airport. This guy was trying to set a record or something, but what made it worse was he was so sleepy...guess it was the end of his shift or something, so we were doing the swerving around the lane bit at 140-150km/hour. Finally I told the guy to just slow down, I want to arrive alive. He seemed pissed at the insult, but he slowed down.

Homer is right, there are good drivers and crazy drivers. Since I started driving a car, I just find it annoying how some taxi drivers think they own the roads...and so do crazy/rude stuff to other drivers. Before driving, I used to think it was great taxi's could get me somewhere so fast.

[Mosley]

In 15 mos. I've had very few problems w/taxis. In my small town they're only too willing to take on a fare, waygook or otherwise. Only time I had a problem getting a ride was one Sunday at 3 a.m. in Sinchon. But the cabs weren't picking up the young Koreans either!

[Swiss James]

Getting taxis in Hongdae when people are leaving clubs (almost said when the clubs are kicking out then, flashback from England) can be tricky, especially outside Stompers.
The taxis that park there waiting for fares will either refuse me when they hear I'm not going as far as they were expecting (I think they presume I'm going to Itaewon), or will ask me "How Much?". F that. Walk a couple of hundred yards in any direction away from the clubs, flag one down, and you're in business.

Best conversation with a taxi driver, directly after I tell him where I'm goingh comes out with:
"Ah western man pen.is size, very back, Korean man pen.is size very small"
I don't know who was laughing harder, me or him.

[phaedrus]

I never have trouble getting a taxi unless it is one o'clock in Itaewon on a cold Saturday night.

I think taxi drivers are picky though. I go shopping at E-Mart one night in January with my wife. There is a little snow down in Seoul, emphasis on little. We have some heavy boxes and a couple of bags. We get a taxi and that is fine. We get to the neighborhood and I am expecting to the door service, not just the closest mouth of a sidestreet. I mean, the side streets are tight, but people do drive on them. Anyway the taxi driver is kind of humming and hawhing (no idea how to spell this). My wife explains afterwards that they don't like to drive like that in the snow. As in they don't like to drive on narrow streets in the snow. As in they won't take you to your door in the snow. What would I expect in the snow? With heavy stuff.........

[Zyzyfer]

Some taxi info, though I can't write the Hangeul......

Every taxi has a sign on the roof that states what kind of taxi it is.

There are private taxis, deluxe taxis, and regular taxis. The private and deluxe taxis don't pick up more than one group, so you'll never hail one of these taxis if someone is already inside. Deluxe taxis are also more expensive overall, and are easy to recognize, since they're black and are usually nicer cars. Private taxis are called "Ge-in", and deluxe taxis are called "Beom-in" or something like that.

There are also two types of regular taxis, that are a bit cheaper : "Il-ban" and...I don't remember. Something about horses or something. You can hail these taxis when someone is already inside, but whether you can get a ride depends on where you're going in relation to the other passenger.

Also, if taxis in a specific section all say the same thing, it's probably best to just walk a block down the street in any direction and try to hail another taxi. There are actually long-distance taxi stands(there's one in Cheonan in front of Yawoori, totally unmarked), so if everyone's disagreeing with what you want, you don't necessarily have to think that they've got it out for you.

Incidentally, I've had problems in Itaewon hailing taxis...too many foreigners who don't speak a lick of Korean and give the drivers hell over it. The drivers in turn stop picking up foreigners.

[just because]

Always leave a tip however small it may be and the driver is usually surprised and happy.
The 10 000 won idea is something I have never done. That is a really good idea that I will remember in the future.
BOYS AND GIRLS THE FORUM IS HELPFUL AFTER ALL!!