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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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 Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:34 pm Post subject: driving academies question |
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i went to a hogwan last night and asked if i could take my car test there. they said i have to have a minimum of 5 lessons and then take the test, at the cost of around 450,000.
is this normal?
i can drive fine (15 years) but i dont have my english licence here in korea to trade. cant i just pay to take a test ( i thought i could re other threads)?.
thanks |
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CrikeyKorea
Joined: 01 Jun 2007
Location: Heogi, Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:49 am Post subject: |
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| that is bs.. the laws were changed last year I believe in order to take away the power of such hagwons. you can book everything- i.e. two driving tests and all that without any hagwon, schools have nothing to do with the korean DMV... Just go to your closest office and do it all there. |
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Hugo85
Joined: 27 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:18 am Post subject: |
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| You cannot do JUST the test at the hagwon I think. |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:34 am Post subject: |
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. yeah, i suspected it was a bit of a con. so you can just cut he hogwan out of the equation? ill get to looking into that then. it seems they want to milk it a bit before they hand out the licence.
thanks v. much |
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giraffe
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:33 am Post subject: |
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Yes you can cut the hagwon out of the equation... if you already know how to drive korea style...
Just go to the korean licensing center in your city and do everything from scratch. First a you have to sign up to watch a 1 hour safety video. then you have to take a physical ( eye test.. takes 10 seconds) Then you do the computer test , then you sign up to do a in car functions/ road course test and finally you sign up to do a Final Road test.
Everything can be done in 2-3 days. Total cost 45,000 won.
I did my license from scratch last December no hagwon.
Thing is, Hagwon will teach you how to pass the test. You dont need to go to the hagwon but There are some thigns that you need to know about driving in korea before taking the tests.. If you dont know how to do the incar functions test or certain things during the road test You can easily fail.... IN korea it isnt so much about knowing how to drive but knowing how to follow EXACT instructions and doing certain things at certains times during the driving test ( even if it makes no sense at all )....
Good luck.. |
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giraffe
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:42 am Post subject: |
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and BTW the hagwon wasnt lying to you.... You technically do need 10 hours of lessons / driving experience ( about 5 lessons ) worth Before being allowed to take the functions test. and then further instructions to be allowed to take the road test... You dont have to do official lessons at a hagwon.. you can practice ( after you pass the written test and are issued a temp license) with anyone who has had their license for over 5 years.... You ( might ) need an experience driver's or a hagwons signature for the licensing center to allow you to take the Second ( in car functions) test and Third ( on road) tests...
BUT the korean DMV doesnt enforce this however they might ask for it. Depends on the testing center... |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:57 am Post subject: |
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| thanks. im going to mull over what youve written and ask a few people see if i can get an idea of the korean thats expected. ive got a lot more to go off now anyway. cheers |
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giraffe
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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| le-paul wrote: |
| thanks. im going to mull over what youve written and ask a few people see if i can get an idea of the korean thats expected. ive got a lot more to go off now anyway. cheers |
you dont need to know any korean for any of the tests.. It canall be done in english.. But theres a bit of hoop jumping and going in/out of buildings and setting up appointments. I would bring a korean with you to set things up and tell you where to go. It can be confusing.... especially if no one there speaks english to help you..
In terms of the test themselves.. its all english if you want to do it in english.
-The 1 hour safety vid has english subs.
-the theory computer test has 40 questions and can be done in english.
I've read people complain about the bad english on the test but Really everythign was 100% clear and understandable except for a few sentences were weird/a bit off...
-the in car functions/ course test can be done in english. YOu just need to look at the monitor/gps screen in the car and follow the instructions exactly. Make sure you wait until the timer starts after every question before pressing any buttons or changing gears and what not.
- The final road test is also done in english if you choose to do it. Its extremely easy. The driving instructor Turns on a Voice GPS ( no screen to look at) and you just follow the instructions. its 100000% clear . Just remember to switch to the neutral gear everytime you stop at a red light or if your waiting a long time to do a U turn. ( yes even if you do the test on an automatic car you need to switch to neutral.. If you dont you will will Fail.. you lose 3 points everytime you dont).. During the road test You'll be in the car with other people so you might get to sit in the back while someone else does his final test. If he passes his test just follow what he did. You will notice that all koreans change the gear to neutral on the test. This is something the gov wants you to do and something the hagwons teach you to do... Wether it makes sense or not in an automatic car doesnt matter.. its a requirement on the testing...
seriously you have nothing to worry about.. i passed everything on the first tries.. Even if you fail ( which alot of koreans dooo , as you will witness) Doesnt matter just go back the next day and do it again...
I did 1 test a day and took 3 days total to do. But i spreed those 3 days across a few weeks because i was busy... |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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| giraffe wrote: |
-the theory computer test has 40 questions and can be done in english.
I've read people complain about the bad english on the test but Really everythign was 100% clear and understandable except for a few sentences were weird/a bit off... |
When I took the test some of the questions were not clear at all. Only the fact that there were accompanying pictures allowed me to figure out what was being asked for a few of them.
Fortunately since I had a license to swap the computer test was all I had to do. That should be a lesson to everyone: if you come to Korea, bring your driver's license from your home country.
| giraffe wrote: |
| Just remember to switch to the neutral gear everytime you stop at a red light or if your waiting a long time to do a U turn. ( yes even if you do the test on an automatic car you need to switch to neutral.. If you dont you will will Fail.. you lose 3 points everytime you dont).. |
This explains an experience I had just the other day. I was stopped at a red light with a driver in front of me taking the test (the car was marked as such), and when the light turns green, he suddenly starts starts slowly rolling backwards. He must have been in neutral, but I couldn't figure out why on Earth someone would do that at a stop light. Why on Earth is that a rule? |
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giraffe
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:01 am Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
When I took the test some of the questions were not clear at all. Only the fact that there were accompanying pictures allowed me to figure out what was being asked for a few of them.
Fortunately since I had a license to swap the computer test was all I had to do. That should be a lesson to everyone: if you come to Korea, bring your driver's license from your home country.
This explains an experience I had just the other day. I was stopped at a red light with a driver in front of me taking the test (the car was marked as such), and when the light turns green, he suddenly starts starts slowly rolling backwards. He must have been in neutral, but I couldn't figure out why on Earth someone would do that at a stop light. Why on Earth is that a rule? |
when did you take the test? I took mine a few months ago so perhaps they updated the english since you last took yours... I was pleasantly surprised how decent the english was... Its not perfect but its totally clear what the questions mean. There was maybe only 1 or 2 questions that were a tiny bit weird.
As for the Car Rolling Back... The car might have been manual and on an incline and he wasn't very good at getting into gear...
THey make you change to neutral because they think it saves gas and that its good for the car and safest thing to do at a red light.... It's part of their "green driving" agenda... whether that makes any sense or not doesnt matter. Just do it on the Test and dont do it after you get your license...
Before you take the test they make you watch a video and they tell you to change to neutral at red lights. I thought it was only for manual Cars so I didnt bother doing it during the final road test. At the end of the Test the computer voice ( the one thats marking you ) yelled out that I "failed" I essentially lost all my points for not changing to neutral.. something like 24 points or something... The Instructor laughed and told me I needed to change to neutral. But because I'm a good Driver She Ignored it and gave me a passing grade... You might be lucky to have an instructor with a sense of humour like i did But save yourself some trouble and just change gears to neutral... |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:16 am Post subject: |
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| giraffe wrote: |
when did you take the test? |
About two years ago. Good news if it got better. |
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giraffe
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:27 am Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
if you come to Korea, bring your driver's license from your home country.
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i disagree with this... Getting a full korean license took 3 days in korea and only cost 45kwon... Very easy to get...Compared to taking 2-3 years in Canada to get a full license =p not to mention the price tag.... If you're in korea and you dont have a license yet, dont bother doing it back home.. Takes to long ... Just get it over with in korea and siwtch it over to your home country license when you go back...
obviously if you already have a license back home. just trade it in.. no point in going through all the testing for no reason..... |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:56 am Post subject: |
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| giraffe wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
if you come to Korea, bring your driver's license from your home country.
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i disagree with this... Getting a full korean license took 3 days in korea and only cost 45kwon... |
It took me about a half an hour.
| giraffe wrote: |
| Compared to taking 2-3 years in Canada to get a full license =p not to mention the price tag.... |
Well, I do not know about Canada, but almost any American coming here will already have a license, so it's simply a matter if remembering to bring it.
| giraffe wrote: |
| If you're in korea and you dont have a license yet, dont bother doing it back home.. Takes to long...Just get it over with in korea and siwtch it over to your home country license when you go back...obviously if you already have a license back home. just trade it in.. no point in going through all the testing for no reason..... |
I said bring your license, not get a new one. Your "disagreement" agrees with my suggestion precisely. |
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giraffe
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:19 am Post subject: |
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yes.. the written test doesnt take long... 30 mins is about right... I'm talking about getting a full license from scratch like a korean does from Start to finish. YOu can do it in 2-3 days. Even possible to get a full license in 1 day if all the tests line up...
Your statement about brining your license. I read differently ( at first).. I took it like you meant that people should bring a license from back home before coming here ( including those who dont have one yet)... BUt i read to much into it ... |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:35 am Post subject: |
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| giraffe, just wanted to say thanks very much for your advice. Ive been following it, so far its gone exactly how you said. The computer test was a bit difficult though as the wording was sometimes a bit weird. Anyway, cheers! |
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