Driving

Weaver Adventure Blog for Week of May 7, 2012

The Adventure Continues

Started doing some driving this week in Seoul. Talk about the adventure continuing!

Firstly, the people who invented satellite navigation should win a Nobel prize. I have never had a “satnav” until now, relying on maps and my wife’s inherent sense of direction to get where I needed to go. However, in a city of this magnitude and complexity, these electronic gadgets are absolutely essential. If the satellites ever go offline, well, I don’t know what will happen; some kind of zombie apocalypse I imagine.

Secondly, the driving rules are pretty straightforward. Thankfully, the British never really visited Korea until the 1950’s, so car layout and road rules are similar to the US, where I have done most of my driving. But the parking rules…well, I missed that memo. I had possession of a car for a little less than one hour in Seoul before it was towed away. I’ve been driving for almost 30 years, and this was a first, so before you judge me too harshly, let me explain.

I drove to our apartment to meet the landlord and get the keys. You’ll recall that was a goal for the week. So, since to be early is to be on time, I got there 15 minutes early and parked in a spot on the street where many other cars were parked. A sign nearby with a car icon on it was blue, not red, and it seemed like a great spot. I walked around the neighborhood for a few minutes and then came back, met the landlord and went in.

During the tour of the place, I glanced out the window (we are on the third floor) and watched in disbelief as a tow truck was just finishing hooking up my car. By the time I got out to the street, it was gone. In its place was an orange sticker on the curb, and although it was all in Korean, I was pretty sure it said, “We towed your car.” The landlord was very helpful and we drove to the impound yard which was just a short ways away and got the car back. Relative to a tow charge in the US, it was even pretty cheap – 47,000 Won – about 45 US dollars.

So of what infraction was I guilty? Turns out the parking spots along that street are assigned to certain houses. Written on the pavement are numbers that correspond to the houses. I did not know this – my bad.

The other thing I didn’t know, but would not have helped me much due to my Korean language deficiency, is that in Seoul, EVERY car has a sticker or card in the front window with the owner’s telephone number on it. Instead of automatically getting a ticket, or getting towed, you will get a call and you can go move your car! It’s a very friendly, pragmatic practice. As a result, people park with some creativity knowing they will probably not get a ticket or inconvenience others too badly. Pretty cool. Anyway, a great lesson learned, and a great value at only 47,000 Won.

Until next time.

Weaver