Harabeoji (할아버지) means grandpa in Korean. The “grandpa” who drove me across town in Seoul was kind, friendly, but an absolutely horrible taxi driver. Is that the norm for taxi drivers in Seoul?!
My Friendly But Absolutely Horrible “Harabeoji” Taxi Driver In Seoul
I checked out of the Grand Hyatt Seoul and summoned a cab to take me across town to the Park Hyatt Seoul.
As an aside, there is not a foreign-friendly Uber-style ridesharing in Seoul–at least to my knowledge–the Kakao T app did work for me and TABA did not either. So, for example, when I stepped out at Seoul Station after we took a train from Gimpo Airport, I ended up waiting in a taxi stand for 25 minutes before a cab that was available pulled up. Certainly, there is an app because most locals were using one as they stepped into the cab…
Anyway, I stepped into a cab and a kind-looking older man nodded to me. The valet at the Grand Haytt explained where I was going, to which he repeatedly nodded.
We got underway and it was clear he didn’t speak any English (and I don’t speak Korean), but he did not know one word: Trump.
“Trump!”
“Trump!”
Trump!”
He kept saying “Trump” and looking back at me, sometimes putting his thumb up.
I said, “Biden?” (this was before he bowed out) to which he responded by shaking his head!
That was cute enough, but there was nothing cute about his driving. Traffic is horrible in Seoul (I probably should have taken public transport) and this guy did a last-minute lane change across FOUR LANES on this bridge (locals will probably know which one) and did not even LOOK in his rearview mirror. He just went for it. My goodness, you should have seen the horns.
And sorry, I could not help but think of this:
(And yes, I totally acknowledge the double standard in culture/media today, though Family Guy is a pretty good equal-opportunity offender…)
He did it again.
We were driving through the city toward Gangham and he made this sudden lane change which directly cut off the guy in the next lane. It was so blatant and so dangerous.
And of course, this wasn’t some quirky rideshare service…this was a registered taxi.
Obviously, I survived and I loved the kind Harabeoji who drove the car…but he probably should retire at this point unless that’s just what cab drives do in Seoul.
yea… driving is an experience. Stick to the buses & trains
Seoul has an excellent public transport system…clean, easy to navigate, and usually faster than driving. Signs and announcements are in both Korean and English.
That said, Uber works just fine in Seoul, and most everywhere else I’ve been in South Korea. It will call a licensed taxi rather than a rideshare as we know it in the US, but there’s no worry about language barriers or directions or payment. Cubbies worldwide are known for aggressive driving, but the ones I’ve had in Korea were no more so than anywhere else in the world…you just hit the rabbit “jackpot” from the sound of things.
Cabbie jackpot, not rabbit jackpot. Gotta love autocorrect!
I first went to Korea in 1981, so I am very familiar with transportation there. Personal vehicles were hard to find then; taxis were the norm; without so many cars on the road, everyone went as fast as possible from A to B. In a way, it appeared that “new” drivers learned from the old drivers, which meant everyone learned how to drive poorly since it’s the way it was/is. And so it goes. Now, with all the traffic (and it’s been heavy traffic for years), a typical driver (not just a cab) will do what they can to get where they need to go, often safety notwithstanding. As nature abhors a vacuum, so does the Korean driver – if I can get ahead of you I will, even if it breaks a law or two. I believe they have the “front bumper rule” in play, too – if I cut you off and you hit me, you’ll say I cut you off. But I’ll be in a better position because my front bumper was ahead of yours during the accident and therefore it was on you to not hit me. That’s a thing, too.
I suspect you also did not see too many traffic police driving around during your adventure either.
If I have any advice, it would be to: never rent a car unless you have experience driving in the country, and use public transportation as Moose mentioned.
Enjoy beautiful Korea. But take the bus/train/subway/plane.
The main taxi union that represents drivers of main companies is still technically striking so you can’t see a lot of taxis. As Moose mentions, Uber works really well as they employ individual taxi drivers, often elderly folks who are retired but have to keep working due to receiving poor retirement plans from their former jobs.
It’s usually recommended to learn a couple Korean phrases as older Koreans did not learn much English in schools compared to younger folks. I learned Korean from a close friend and when I was in Korea for work, people in general were surprised and were even friendlier.
I had a cab driver in LA just like this. Difference was he had minimal English but he ignored our pleas to slow down and drive more carefully.
Give me a London cab driver! Love them!
Trump and Biden have different levels of support, depending on the country. Russia and North Korea want Trump. Iran and China want Biden.
Israel (or at least Netanyahu) wants Trump. Canada wants Biden.