Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Derrek]

Do you think it's goofy that the police have their lights on all of the time?

I've never been to another country where the police do this. Everywhere else I've been, they won't turn them on unless they need to.

Also, hearing them bark out on the PA speaker to ask someone to move is really funny. Of course, to me it sounds like, "BWHAHARAHAHHWWWAHHAEAAAA---NIDA"!!!!

What exactly are they saying? For you Korean-speakers, do they ever say anything funny?

[pocariboy73]

I think its cuz they feel more "powerful" that way

[Cthulhu]

[captain kirk]

Back in the West snowplows and streetsweeper trucks have their lights on all the time, but not police cars.
Korean police are often on the four lane behind our school at night standing well out in the road (stopping cars for breathalyzer testing) in reflective vests and waving flashlights which have long, red, semi-transparent 'cone blades' attached to them. One night I saw them in the distance waving these things and thought 'Star Wars' and 'light sabers'

[Toby]

It does lose the impact of why they have them if they are on all the time. But, like many things here, there is a lack of logic with this, which fits in fine with everything else!

[mindmetoo]

Has anyone actually figured out what Korean police actually do? Have you ever seen a cop pull a car (or more likely a school bus driver) over for a traffic infraction?

A few years ago they instituted a cell phone law that required people use speaker phones and not hand phones. I was waiting for a friend near city hall and I saw a cop pull over a cabbie and write him a ticket for using his hand phone. I was stunned. I was even more stunned to see a TV crew filming the take down. That's when I realized the poor cabbie was being made an example of. And that was the first and only time I ever saw a Korean cop handing out a ticket.

In my neighborhood, I notice the cops go on foot patrols. Now you'd think it would be better if they spread out a bit. But no. Six or eight of them all walk together for a few blocks and then stop. If it's cold or rainy, they crowd into a bank ATM.

It's possible the sole function of cops is to respond to domestic disturbance reports and arrest the wife.

[waterbaby]

At first I thought the cops were busting bad guys all over the place

[steelhead]

I cant figure out the lights at all either. I am curious, if the lights are always on, how do you know if they are pulling you over? thats theoretically speaking, meaning they would have to pull you over.

Another thing, have you seen the policemen, they are kids, they look like they are 18.....

I wouldnt want to pull over some of the hardened Korean men Ive met and seen, to have them blast me in Korean.

My buddies were saying they got pulled over one time, on there scooters, when the police got close enough to see they were foreigners, he just grunted and waved them to go......

guess he just didnt want to deal with it....

MB

[mindmetoo]

[Derrek]

The one thing more crazy than the cops are the cameras with speakers on them hanging over intersections. There's one in Bundang above the Seohyun station bus stop, and sometimes someone barks out of the speaker and scolds pedestrians for doing stuff.

Weird!

[Squid]

I got stopped for "running a red" last week, told them it was yellow, after a short discussion one of them said "be careful" and waved me off.

Get breathalyzed (spelling?) regularly on my way to work. No big deal.

I guess if they didn't keep on the lights they'd get the same treatment general road users give each other.

[gomurr]

The way it was explained to me by my 1st director back in Kangnung is that the police are not allowed to lay speed traps and such with their roof lights off because then that would be entrapment. Also with illegal parking just towing someone away involves too much extra paperwork and on occassion has involved fistfights with the pissed off owner of the car. The other thing was that the police used to have alot of power up unto the late 80's. Now they are virtually useless.

[supernick]

As explained by my wife, the police cars have their lights flashing while the are not engaged to show that they are available to help. It's kind of light the top lights on taxis. When they do pull over a car, they use their load blow horns and say "Hey, Nolin in that gray Excel, pull over". and then they turn off their lights.

I have a problem with all the different flashing light in Korea because you become immune to it.

[noelinkorea]

My own little theory is that they watched too many of those American shows - such as The Dukes of Hazzard, Cops, and Knight Rider with the cops flashing their lights about and probably thought it was normal behaviour to have them on...

[kangnamdragon]

Answer from a Korean friend: It makes them feel more powerful and it is fun. No big mystery. If they chase someone, they turn on the siren too.