[Hancinema's Korea Diary] Musing over Korea's Roadside Chaos

Driving in Korea has a horrible reputation. Bus drivers will bully you into the shoulder without so much as a glance; pizza scooters whizz past elbows at breakneck speeds; and juiced-up cabbies will get you home safely and quickly, no matter the cost. It tests the nerves to have a taxi driver zoom through green lights only to see it instantly change orange behind you, knowing that the man behind the shades and wheel is determined to break some kind of personal record. Korea will definitely keep you on your toes or, just as quickly, sweep you off them.

Statistically, Korea is not a favourable place to stroll around either. Korea's road rules are inconsistently observed and most who have lived for any reasonable amount of time will tell you not to put too much faith in them. Despite an overwhelming number of elements in the pedestrian's favour (Korea does actually have excellent road markings and 'rules' after all) drivers seem to generally regard 'walkers' with about as much interest as they do in checking their blind spots. Pedestrians also enjoy crosswalks that are almost always clearly and neatly marked, as there is nothing sloppy or unordered about Korea's side and crosswalks. In addition, there is often a sizeable flashing green man giving you the go ahead, a timer counting down the seconds you have remaining, as well as a loud ringing for the visually impaired-gambling is illegal in Korea but with odds such as these you can understand why.

It's often been said that traffic laws in Korea are nothing more than some pseudo-authoritative force that 'suggests' appropriation, but rarely demands it. I've seen clusters of eager pedestrians move like waves of sardines as they collectively judge whether or not the oncoming car will, in fact, stop in time and allow them to use the crosswalk. I personally enjoy watching those drivers who half-stop and end up cutting the crosswalk in half, leaving crowds of people to walk around the car like the wind hugging a jetfighter's wings. Koreans have such great traffic laws (as well as impressively detailed road markings it has to be said) and it does trouble the mind as to why drivers don't respect them as much as they feel they should.

I've been back home now and I have seen the madness that governs the streets of my hometown, and what a difference it would make to employ just a fraction of Korea's road management. They may not have the driving mentality to always follow the rules, but South Africa could definitely use some of Korea's roadside know-how. To have such wide and clearly marked zebra crossings with a half a metre on either side of it, that would be the silver bullet to the 'frogger' game mechanics my hometown operates on.

What's this?  An actual u-turn lane? I have forever been told that u-turns are for those who didn't get it right the first time, for those drivers who missed their turn and generally weren't paying attention-not something you encourage by putting signs up all over the place. However, Korea taught me to think differently on the matter. Not only is it acceptable to make u-turns (naturally only when you are in one those cute little side lanes especially for them) but also people actually patiently wait and you never feel the burn of everyone's eyes on you for doing it!

I personally tend to be harsh on bad driving in Korea, because there simply isn't much to it! Now, I understand a lot of people grew up driving an automatic car, but for me everyone was expected to learn and use a manual. The old and the young all had to grab that stick and pump that clutch while trying not to stall-no problem. With an automatic, the car is doing all the work, so the amount of attention you can give to the road should be magnified right? No more worrying about stalling in the middle of the road or forgetting to release the clutch (roadside embarrassments such as these are foreign concepts but are still worth noting). But now that I think about it, I did see a extremely high number of cars with a 'GPS', which usually functioned as also a radio, CD/MP3 player, internet browser, and a T.V. So perhaps not as much concentration is spared driving an automatic after all-this is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, is it not?

Since such a large percentage of Korea's population lives in big cities (particularly in Seoul) the sheer volume of traffic Korea's traffic system has to absorb and keeping flowing is incredible. Day-to-day routes are fluid and the traffic generally moves smoothly enough. Of course there are those frustrating time-place instances that plague all cities, such as rush hour and vacation times. Major holidays (e.g. Lunar New Year and Chuseok) also tend to expose any leaks of an overcrowded/congested road system as everyone rushes to into the countryside and to the coastlines. Trips that usually only take a few hours (remember Korea is actually a relatively small country) end up being doubled, tripled or worse during holiday times. It's sadly a big enough factor to force you to reconsider your plans for the holidays

What amazes me the most it what happens when something goes wrong–a simple (non-fatal) car collision let's say. The first rule when you bump into someone's car on the road, it would seem, is to not move! No matter how many cars are behind you or you are inconveniencing, simply stop the car and get out to deal with the problem. It is so important in Korea to follow the proper procedure in these kinds of matters and the respected parties must wait for a law official to verify the nature of the accident. Like after a dead body has been removed from a crime scene, you will often see the chalk outlines of previous road accidents as they scar the dark asphalt. For a nation that rose from more holistic understandings of nature and knowledge, this seems like a particularly unsportsmanlike behaviour.  I mean when something happens back home, if people are still able to walk and talk, the vehicles are quickly removed from the road-you know, so as not to inconvenience everyone else because you slipped on the clutch.

Yes, it is true. Whether you are driving, walking or riding down a street in Korea you may want to keep your wits about you and your eyes sharp. Don't let the freshly painted white lines and the seductive green man tell you otherwise, it's everybody for themselves over here! It's a huge shame really, because my hometown could do with some of Korea's transportation infrastructure. Too bad some of the locals don't see it that way, or at all. Bbang bbang!

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