Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fortysixyou]

Bought a new car yesterday. It's a standard transmission. You know. Manual. Stick shift.

However, my Korean driver's license only qualifies me to drive automatics.

I need to get converted....to manual.

Has anyone else done this? Would appreciate an explanation of the process.



Thanks a lot.

[eamo]

Just go ahead and drive. No one will ever bother to question you about that.

[wormholes101]

[eamo]

[MattAwesome]

that's ridiculous. they require a bit more coordination, but shouldnt need it's own classification of passenger vehicle.
go to the dmv and have them change it. also tell them its retarded that you have to do so.

[fortysixyou]

Wow. I'm so insanely frustrated and enraged right now.


I just got back from the DMV, where I attempted to have my driver's license changed from automatic to standard.

First, let me tell you about how I got there. I waited an hour for the train, which cost 2,500 won, a 20 minute ride to Yessan, the city where the DMV is.

I took a taxi from the station to the DMV, which cost 6,500 won.


When I arrived, I quickly filled out the necessary application and took passport photos on the spot (6,000 won) and paid the application fee (15,000 won).


I was quickly ushered to the driving course where there was a giant diagram of the course with Korean instructions. It was a lecture hall style room in which a police officer was giving instructions to 20-odd Koreans about to take the same driving test as me.

Of course, when I walked in, the whole room completely stopped, stared at me like I was something they'd never seen before with their mouths open. The kind woman who ushered me there explained that I need to take the stick shift driving course test and that I speak basic Korean.

I sat down and studied the diagram, understanding most of it.

After about 30 minutes of waiting in the baking sun, it was my turn to get in the yellow test car and take my turn. From the diagram, it was a pretty basic course. Stop at the stop signs, go up an incline, go through a basic intersection, take come curves, don't hit the curbs, parallel park, stop, go, basic stuff.

(HERE'S WHERE IT GETS WEIRD)

I had driven about 10 meters when a DMV ajussi stopped me and told me to move to the passenger side of the car. "What? Really?", I said. Fine, I moved to the passenger side, and he very kindly drove me through the course, explaining everything in Korean and basic English, of which I understood 100%. I thought it was just being nice, taking the time to make sure I understood the course before I was tested on it. I was terribly mistaken.

After he parked the car, he took me to the office and said I failed the test, and that I would have to try again after 3 days. What??! How could I have failed the test? I only drove 10 meters?!?! I could've passed the test on my own if he hadn't interrupted me. I came so far to take this test. I took off from school early, I waited for the train, I paid for a taxi, application, photos, and all of this, only to not be given a chance?????

I plead my case. They wouldn't listen. They said come back Saturday.

I couldn't reason with them. When I spoke, they just smiled, shook their heads, and said I couldn't try again today, that I would need to come back on Saturday.

"What do you mean try again?! I didn't even get to try!!!"

(polite smiles, head shakes)

"No really. I only drove 10 meters. I didn't get to try the test! How can I have failed it if I didn't even try it? I didn't need you to explain it to me, I already knew how."

(polite smiles, head shakes)

"Fine. Thanks very much."


Blazing heat. Rage in the parking lot. Pouring sweat. Wanting to scream, or cry, or blow my brains out. The kind of frustration you can only experience when you're not being understood in a foreign country. The kind of rage you can only experience when you know you've just been screwed over because you're a foreigner.

There was no one to call. There was no one who could help me. There was nothing more I could do. I was defeated.

I took a taxi back to Yesan Station (6,500 won) to catch a train back home. Of course, as it so happened, the next train was in 3 and a half hours. No way I could wait for 3 hours for a train that takes 20 minutes to get home.

I took a taxi back home (21,000 won), and am currently attempting to keep from losing my mind with rage and frustration.


I love it here in Korea, but I hate it here in this moment. I can't do anything because I'm a foreigner. I just want to go about it correctly and get the right license for my car. Nevermind the fact that I've driven standard transmission cars back home in America for 10+ years. I have to take a test to have that privilege here in Korea, but I don't even get a chance to do that.

Total cost of the trip: 57,500 won.

Total time wasted: 4 hours.

And I still have to go back take the test again on Saturday if I want the license.

FML

[Sleepy in Seoul]

Look forward to the prospect of maybe doubling your distance on Saturday!

[eamo]

That's crazy. Maybe they thought it impossible that a foreigner can do a 'Korean' driving test.

Or maybe they're just shafting you for another fee.......

[NYC_Gal]

Bring a Korean friend or have them at the ready with their phones so that you can ask WHY next time.

Good luck!

[Jake_Kim]

10 meters, then you didn't even make it to the zebra before he stopped you.
Have you taken more than 30 seconds to roll after the first green light? If so, then you're automatically failed.
Taking more than 20 seconds but not more than 30 seconds, you get 5 points deducted. Failing to signal left when you begin also costs you 5 points, and so does forgetting to turn off the signal before you reach the zebra. If you loose more than 20 points throughout, then you're failed even if you complete the course.
There's a specific set of instructions per each segment of the test that you're assumed to be aware of in prior, and 4 clauses for failure regardless of your score. One of which is the 30-second cutoff. Officers don't mark you manually, sensors and computers do.
If you have driven manual transmission in the States, why do you hold a lower-class Korean license when you could have gotten the Class 2 Regular in the first place for which you seem to be having so much trouble now?

[fortysixyou]

Hmmm.



I gave the whole situation some thought.

There were a few aspects of the driving test that I actually didn't know about before the ajussi explained them.

For example, if at any time while driving, you hear a beeping sound, you must put on your flashers and stop the car. Then when the beeping stops, you have to turn off the flashers and resume driving.

There was another part where you had to drive above 20 km/hour then brake to a stop within a certain marked area.

Also, parallel parking.

I guess I wouldn't have passed the test anyway. I read on the Korean DMV website that if you miss any of those things, you're instantly disqualified. Maybe I missed something right off the bat in the first 10 meters and was disqualified. I did hear a beeping sound RIGHT when I started driving. It was brief, but I guess that's what it was.

It's still pretty damn frustrating though. It basically boils down to this:
I really really really really need to master Korean if I want to be free of situations like this in the future in this country.


EDIT: Another thing. I also read on the website that you have to show up 30 minutes BEFORE the driving test for the explanatory lecture.

I got there about 2 minutes before the driving test because of ignorance.

Not only could that alone have disqualified me, but it might also explain the EXTREME STARING I experienced when I walked in.

[Jake_Kim]

If you can read Korean a little, take a look at the details of test criteria such as this
http://www.hdschool7.co.kr/course/course_01.htm
with the help of automatic translation on Google Chrome if necessary.

[fortysixyou]

[fortysixyou]

Ahhh yes. My second closed-course driving test also FAILED.


Why? Because I did EXACTLY what the little green car in the animation here

on the number 8 portion of the driving test (turning around):

http://www.hdschool7.co.kr/course/course_01.htm


Apparently this animation is wrong, because I did exactly what it shows to do (on # 8 ) and was yet again removed from the car and disqualified.

Apparently you're supposed to turn around the other way, by first turning left into the space, then backing up and going straight. So ghey.

Of course, I have to wait another three days before re-taking the test. Wasted time? Check. Wasted money? Double check.

[coralreefer_1]

I'm not sure if this will help you, but I posted this in response to another thread about getting a Korean Driver's License.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=2446593&highlight=#2446593

Some small tidbit in there might prove useful.

Good Luck!