Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ippy]

Hi, im trying to get my license (yes, before you ask i cant drive, never took a lesson and have absolutely no experience so im starting from scratch - and before you ask, i cant drive because in the UK its ridiculously expensive and we have awesome public transport anyway and our cities aint that big, and if you have a car in the city youve just trebled the cost of ownership with extra fees like parking permits). Sop with that out of the way

K, ive done step 1. Ive gone to my local office, done my application, and had my eye exam. All good, now im off on step 2.

Step 2: safety lecture. They have this booked for April 10th, and straight after i have to take the written test. ONLY i have no idea what this test consists of because there seems to be no highway code type booklet for foreigners anywhere. If someones done this, would they be so good as to send me a linky to a pdf or something? I have this US Army one i found, but it doesnt seem comprehensive. Also, i saw a link on google to a sample test, and the english seems wacko. Am i going to be battling translation as well as my knowledge, or is this going to be a fair fight?

Anyway, when thats done, i have to do three hours of basic training followed by a quick test. And then when thats done i have to do a paltry 10 hours of road training followed by a quick test. After that, im apparently SAFE to drive???
Am i dreaming this?

Anyone care to enlighten me? It seems a little er, easy. Also, apparently its a grade 2, and i only know this from the paperwork, whats the difference between grade and grade 1? I cant seem to find the info even on the official korean english page. Grade 2 lets me ride what? Is grade 1 for things like vans and buses as well or something? Anyway, its all perplexing but good fun thus far, looking forward to nailing the test and being one more menace to society with not enough driving skill being let out on the roads of korea

[Banana_Man]

I would advise that you enroll at a driving hagwon. They will teach you and you will have a qualified instructor with you in the car - I think it should be your car though, not sure if they will provide one. Anyway, if you don't feel confident these places are common and will help you a lot. I drive here and whilst the rules are a little different from what i'm used to in the UK they are not totally different, so brushing up with a UK or US highway code booklet could help. I'm pretty sure the British Embassy website has guidelines you could look at too.

[ticktocktocktick]

You can get the booklet from the local DVLA office, in English. They will open on Saturday from about 9-11am.

The list of locations is here: http://www.dla.go.kr/english/04_intro/office.jsp

[ippy]

Thanks so far. Whats a driving hagwon and are there any in gwangju that speak english? I wouldnt ask, but i assume the search would need to be in korean to actually find them. I figured id just learn at the test center since its literally next to my house, money isnt really a huge issue because firstly, i still throw klorean money away like its monopoly money, and second, no matter how expensive it is, its still about 600 quid cheaper than the UK

ETA: Info ive found so far:

http://forums.galbijim.com/viewtopic.php?t=3801
(process)
http://yongsan.korea.army.mil/AtoZ.asp (scroll to D for access to brief korean highway code).

Both seem helpful if a little scant, still its a start, im honestly such a procrastinator i cant actually believe ive managed to get a test date

[seoulsucker]

[ippy]

ah well, whatever gets me the piece of paper at the end of the day. Im cautious and defensive by nature, so ill do what they want

PS> Can you tell me about the two tests? what skills are they testing on, and how did you fail them?