Korean Job Discussion Forums

[le-paul]

i was just wondering why so many people come to korea and flout the laws? there are numbers of people who. dont seem to deem it necessary to get insurance and have a licence (the licence i understand, it can be a waste of time maybe if youre only here a short while?). but not registering vehicles is just drawing negative attention to foreigners. everytime i hear the same crap argument ' nothing has happened to me and my mates'. well i never got cancer, but it doesnt mean i shouldnt stop smoking! there are tons of people who have been busted for various traffic incidents and everytime time that happens i can here people saying 'but im a foreigner!'. well you are, and youre making the crime statistics worse as well as making it harder for the rest of us when we have honest complaints with the police and making foreigners look like tossers. well done

[Lazio]

Yeah, and there are those who camp in national parks even though it is prohibited.

[ttompatz]

and those who somehow think things like a discussion on bike law / bike registration belongs in the:

"Job-related Discussion Forum - Discussion on issues related only to *working* in South Korea."

Do they use the bike in the classroom?
Perhaps they were driving the bike down the school hallways?
Perhaps a new E2 requirement - must have: passport, degree copy, CBC and bike with proper registration/insurance. Will that need an apostille as well?

Time to move this one.

.

[le-paul]

oops, i thought i was the other page. busted!

[Skippy]

Yea this might be in the wrong topic area. This topic can still relate to job and job law a bit.

Many reasons why people flout the laws.

1) Ignorance of the law. People just do not know what they have to do. The license seems to get more convoluted every year. So people just assume, since they have a license from back home they are fine. Or they get a vehicle and assume since they got it with no caveats all is kosher.

2) The everyone else does it excuse, so why can't I. Friends and coworkers have done it, so it must be fine. That is until things go sideways. Or people get told it is fine as said person has done it and nothing happened to them.

4) The power of the "foreigner card". it does work at times. By the virtue of being a foreigner allows things to slide. Sometimes the police as just not bothered to care. Rather then dealing with translation and confusion, the often just let things go.

6) For many people and often the young do not think of the consequences. It may be feelings of immortality or just underestimating the chances of things. Hey, I have never been in an accident, so I am protected. or I am good driver and am careful.

7) The one that bothers me the most, general laziness and indifference. For many people, getting legal and doing things properly requires work and effort. So they go with shortcuts or just do what ever they want.
People want what they want and damn the consequences.

Social psychopathy. People just do not care. Why should they worry what other people think. They do not care if what they do effects other people. All they care if what it does for them. Selfishness. Of course, when things do go wrong, then they really want everyone else to care. Those few people who did not get travel insurance are a good example. Later after a nice accident, they come calling for donations and sympathy.

9) The proper way is to convoluted or difficult to do. It might be laws and paperwork. Language barrier also. For some people when the reach an impasse, decide to skip things or go around. Laws and regulations get flouted.

10) Cheapness. For some people spending that extra money is just too much.

11) Well back home I could.... Another assumption people do is they thing Korea is just like back home and what they can do the same things here. Or things operate in the same manner.

[Landros]

also they see Koreans do it and get away with it. Bikes used to be treated as toys. License plates are for catching speeders with traffic cams or for cars that park in the wrong place. Motorcycles need plates mainly to deter theft. Register and track the owner.

Any motorcycle without a licence plate is illegal and if it has fake plates from Japan or Italy that is worse of a penalty.

You still sell some kids riding them around though and without helmets.

People don't see the point of a law or regulation until it is too late.

[Daniel1981]

Haha. Lol @ Ttompatz

Sorry, no more content to my post, but that was funny.

[Steelrails]

Meh, it really depends what they do and how they do it. Some craptastic unlicensed Faggio (That's Fah-gee-oh) of a scooter or some basic transportation motorcycle being used to tool around podunk K-ville by a 6-12monther doesn't really strike me as offensive or a flaunting of the laws. I could care less if its licensed or registered.

Now, a full on car, or if you're driving in a major city, yeah that's kind of suspect, but that's more because of insurance than registration or having a license.

I don't really see this being a "foreigner" issue. I dunno, back home driving with an expired/suspended license/registration/insurance was pretty much a game amongst the hourly-wage/student population. I don't really see an issue with it here if all you're doing is staying for a year and driving 5 minutes to work in a small town or taking a weekend trip somewhere.

Not an issue to get worked up over NET behavior in my opinion.

[joesp]

Foreigners ... like to see a Chinese guy get a ticket for delivering Chinese food.

Long as you're working, they'll never give you a ticket!

So, my recommendation is: buy a Daelim Citi scooter and put a huge yellow box on the back, you'll never get a ticket!

[coralreefer_1]

Over my 8 years here in Korea, what makes up the bad rap foreigners (westerners) get comes mostly from the "social" issues rather than the "legal" issues.

Seriously, there are FAR more westerners making an ass of themselves at the bars, restaurants, their blog/discussion board postings, and general lack of interest in making an attempt to temporarily integrate into Korean life (minimal attempts to learn the language). These are the areas where most of the complaints about foreigners come from, rather than the few foreigners who actually have some type of transportation but haven't registered it.

Of course it doesn't help that some folks thumb the law as the OP says, but there are far more folks who are engaged in something perfectly legal yet bring much more negative attention to the foreigner community. There are probably more than 1,000 foreigners in my city engaged in social work, running and organizing sports leagues, etc etc...but let ONE foreigner slip up and be too aggressive hitting on a woman in the bar that results in Koreans getting involved, and the ENTIRE foreigner community of the city is cast in a bad light for months to come.

Or for a more real example...let a group of foreigners sit on a subway floor playing cards and drinking..and there are articles all over the national press and Korean blogs for weeks..and the after-effect for the rest of the foreigner community continues long after.

[joesp]

there is no relation between traffic violations and morality in this country! they will brazenly barely take you out without a hint of responsibility or guilt. What is all the hassle here about traffic violations. ... ?

[big_fella1]

[coralreefer_1]

[nora]

[EZE]

The bigger concern is how motorbikes are a little bit less safe than other forms of transportation. I believe at least one Dave's poster has died in Korea while riding one. The fact that a foreigner is working in South Korea means he or she is at an elevated risk of not having health insurance (even if it's in their contract) which could cause medical costs from an accident to be financially catastrophic.