Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

[wylies99]

[ChopChaeJoe]

I've taken 100s of taxis all over Korea ad tipped 95% of the time. Sometimws I don't tip if the fare is a even buck, then agai sometimes paid 3000 when the fare was 2000. Never had a refusal. Once I had a driver who specifically remembered me for tipping everytime I was in his cab. I didn't remember him though. Upto the next cheon. It's just good karma. Maybe I'm a sucker though. Who cares, it's a few dimes is all.

[bassexpander]

Some of you guys are just nuts. Tipping cab drivers? I can see leaving a hundred won because it's a little extra, but jeesh... planning a tip?

Five years ago, the same type of thread was met with a chorus of, "NEVER tip cab drivers, or they will begin to expect it."

Now we've got newbies/semi-newbies berating people for not tipping.

Times change.

[Straphanger]

[Yaya]

Fact is, taxi drivers make a pittance and the extra thousand or two thousand won makes them feel good. Even the hike of 500 won won't really make that much of a difference in their earnings. Plus, cab drivers know the pulse of the city and what's going on, and if you can speak Korean, they can tell you lots.

Tips are also good on long cab rides in excess of 20,000 won. I remember my relative taking me to the airport in a taxi and the bill coming out to 17,000 won or so. My relative gave the cab driver 20,000 won and told him to keep the rest.

I also remember in December 2006 that I did the same when the bill came out to 16,000 won. I guess I was in the Xmas spirit.

[Sleepy in Seoul]

It's nice to give a tip when the cabbie has been helpful and/or nice, but to feel obliged to give a tip is just stupid. How grateful I am to not come from a country where it's expected to give someone a tip for simply doing their job that they are already paid for.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Could rounding up from 2700 to 3000 even be considered a tip? It's such a small amount of money that neither you nor the driver should really even notice.

[bassexpander]

Tip if you want, but I think it's stupid. You're only encouraging the practice.

Personally, as a driver, I feel there are far too many taxis on the road. At least 40% of these drivers are illegal, according to a report by one of the major news outlets last year. Many of those are ex-cons who can't get other jobs.

I wouldn't mind seeing a chunk of them being culled out of existence. They are bad drivers, aggressive, park and wait on turns at intersections where they are not allowed to do so, and are basically a nuisance driving down between 2 lanes weaving/bobbing, and putting through slowly in areas they shouldn't.

I don't owe these people a damned thing extra.

[kiwiduncan]

[digsydinner]