Some samples of apartments in China.

Yeah, it's one of the reasons we just bit the bullet and bought a car.
That's also a pretty big quality of life improvement, btw!

Yeah, it's one of the reasons we just bit the bullet and bought a car.
That's also a pretty big quality of life improvement, btw!

I'd like to, but I don't know how to drive. I've had some driving lessons but, never enjoyed it haha.
I've started considering learning to drive. All my lessons were in a manual, and I hated the stick thing.
I think I'd do well in an auto with practice.

I'd like to, but I don't know how to drive.

Well, then that would put you right in with the majority of people driving here in Korea! 

I've had some driving lessons but, never enjoyed it haha.
I've started considering learning to drive. All my lessons were in a manual, and I hated the stick thing.
I think I'd do well in an auto with practice.

Honestly, those driving hagwons might be a bit pricey, but they *are* pretty thorough, and can be very helpful if you can find an instructor who has reasonable English skills. A friend of mine went the hagwon route, and it did absolute wonders for her confidence. Also made the driving exam pretty straight forward, as I believe that they basically have you do the exact same exam over and over on the practice course.

I'd like to, but I don't know how to drive.

You'll fit right in with most Korean drivers on the road. 

I didn't want to give them my Saffa license so I did the test, pretty damn easy. Having a car infinitely improves your quality of life in Korea, particularly if you live in the country or commute a fair distance to work.

Well, then that would put you right in with the majority of people driving here in Korea! 
Honestly, those driving hagwons might be a bit pricey, but they *are* pretty thorough, and can be very helpful if you can find an instructor who has reasonable English skills. A friend of mine went the hagwon route, and it did absolute wonders for her confidence. Also made the driving exam pretty straight forward, as I believe that they basically have you do the exact same exam over and over on the practice course.

Ahh nice. :o
Do you know a rough price of one. I've been thinking about it, but not enough to really start looking into it yet haha.
I'm also not sure where my nearest one would be. I could likely offer my co-t money to give me driving lessons, she is retiring in August and already worried about being bored in retirement haha; assuming there isn't one close to me.

Ahh nice. :o
Do you know a rough price of one. I've been thinking about it, but not enough to really start looking into it yet haha.
I'm also not sure where my nearest one would be. I could likely offer my co-t money to give me driving lessons, she is retiring in August and already worried about being bored in retirement haha; assuming there isn't one close to me.

Around 600k for regular license from what I remember. I'm taking motorcycle 'lessons' and its frankly awful and in no way will prepare anyone for the road. The car course did look more useful though.

I'm not taking hangook's alarmist, conspiracy theorist side here, but things typically are skewed against the foreigner.

I have 2 friends/acquaintances in the police, one I met at the track who asked me to help him prepare for his police physical exam and the other was a former temp-teacher. I see them now and then. The lady who used to cut my hair is a massive blabbermouth and is married to policeman, she'd constantly complain about her husband to me.

Anyways, here's what I've pieced together:

- If an officer is involved in any kind of incident, they'd have to cut down a whole forest to supply the amount of forms he/she will
  have to fill out. With this in mind, they do everything they can to get both parties to settle or conclude the matter as quickly as
  possible. Worst case, justice takes a back seat.

- There's a HUGE drinking culture within the police.

- The kinds of people who enter the force, particularly in smaller cities/towns, are oftentimes the laziest men looking for a job
  that pays them to park their car out of sight and spend most of their days sleeping.

- If you're blathering on in English after an incident with a Korean, the officer has the authority to make judgement on the spot
  and taking the Koreans side over going through the trouble of translating what you have to say is the path of least resistance.
  Ideally, he's just going to judge by facial expressions and call 50-50 or whatever gets things sorted with the least amount of
  work.

Somehow related, but I find it wise to stay away from places where I'll find lots of drinkers.

I'd say that is certainly a fair point. At the same time I haven't really heard about that outside of traffic accidents with anyone I know, at least not in any case that didn't start with "So it was 2 AM in Hongdae..." by people who aren't obnoxious drunks.

And there have been multiple cases where the cops took the foreigner's side. Most were slam dunkers with helpful locals to be fair, but one, without going into too much personal detail (embarrassing situation and people might know them), involved the person making a report and it took all of two seconds talking to the suspect and the Korean person saying "They're lying" and the cops going "How could you know if they're lying if you weren't there?" and them instantly giving the Korean, a person of status, the 3rd degree.

But yeah laziness and those types often go hand in hand. I also bet each community can vary wildly, especially in the rural areas.

Around 600k for regular license from what I remember. I'm taking motorcycle 'lessons' and its frankly awful and in no way will prepare anyone for the road. The car course did look more useful though.

I've heard that 600,000 won number as well.

I'd say that is certainly a fair point. At the same time I haven't really heard about that outside of traffic accidents with anyone I know, at least not in any case that didn't start with "So it was 2 AM in Hongdae..." by people who aren't obnoxious drunks.

And there have been multiple cases where the cops took the foreigner's side. Most were slam dunkers with helpful locals to be fair, but one, without going into too much personal detail (embarrassing situation and people might know them), involved the person making a report and it took all of two seconds talking to the suspect and the Korean person saying "They're lying" and the cops going "How could you know if they're lying if you weren't there?" and them instantly giving the Korean, a person of status, the 3rd degree.

But yeah laziness and those types often go hand in hand. I also bet each community can vary wildly, especially in the rural areas.

Wasn't there a story on here a year or 2 ago, where one of the foreign teachers from here was driving home, and some dude drove into car trying to cut ahead, he got the whole thing filmed on the dash cam, and backed the footage up to the cloud before giving the SSD card to the police. The police just so happened to lose the card, and when he said that he can get them another copy of the footage, thanks to the power of saving files to the internet from our phones, they miraculously found the SSD card like 5 mins later. No one had been drinking, the Korean driving was just trying to cut his commute time down, or get somewhere faster, drove recklessly and caused damage, and then the police were just siding with him, even though there was video evidence to support the opposite.
I may have missed some of the details, and the poster might even recognize this, if they are still around. I don't remember the username of the person who posted that originally.

I've heard that 600,000 won number as well.

Is that per lesson, or enough lessons to get the license? In the first message, it seemed like it would cost that much to study enough to get the driver's license. :o

I believe that that would be for the whole course, which concludes with you taking the actual test.
I also seem to remember somebody telling me that they basically guarantee that you pass the test if you've finished the course, but that might just be apocryphal, so take it with a grain of salt.

I've heard that 600,000 won number as well.

I knew a guy that paid 800K to get the international license as he was only getting it to do road trip in the U.S.  He did his through a school that catered to English speakers (or at least had an instructor who did) in Gimpo. 

I'm not taking hangook's alarmist, conspiracy theorist side here, but things typically are skewed against the foreigner.

I have 2 friends/acquaintances in the police, one I met at the track who asked me to help him prepare for his police physical exam and the other was a former temp-teacher. I see them now and then. The lady who used to cut my hair is a massive blabbermouth and is married to policeman, she'd constantly complain about her husband to me.

Anyways, here's what I've pieced together:

- If an officer is involved in any kind of incident, they'd have to cut down a whole forest to supply the amount of forms he/she will
  have to fill out. With this in mind, they do everything they can to get both parties to settle or conclude the matter as quickly as
  possible. Worst case, justice takes a back seat.

- There's a HUGE drinking culture within the police.

- The kinds of people who enter the force, particularly in smaller cities/towns, are oftentimes the laziest men looking for a job
  that pays them to park their car out of sight and spend most of their days sleeping.

- If you're blathering on in English after an incident with a Korean, the officer has the authority to make judgement on the spot
  and taking the Koreans side over going through the trouble of translating what you have to say is the path of least resistance.
  Ideally, he's just going to judge by facial expressions and call 50-50 or whatever gets things sorted with the least amount of
  work.

Somehow related, but I find it wise to stay away from places where I'll find lots of drinkers.

These are the types of things I have heard over the years.  Laziness being the worst problem.  Though massive paperwork should be cut down on.  Anyways, not sure why you are claiming I'm a conspiracy theorist for saying this.  I've lived here a long time and though I haven't had the trouble myself, I do know of other folks experiences and have read enough stories to figure it out.  Even now, some folks in 2021 are describing their experiences online and problems they have had here "Every expat in Korea" group. 

Is that per lesson, or enough lessons to get the license? In the first message, it seemed like it would cost that much to study enough to get the driver's license. :o

It's for the whole course, theory (3 hours) and practical lessons (10 hours). You do have to pay for the eye test (6k), written test ( around 10k?) and the final test (idk this fee).

Can I have a sample?

I've never had a sample of an apartment. Is it a mini-model? That would be cool.

Can I have a sample?

I've never had a sample of an apartment. Is it a mini-model? That would be cool.

If at first you don't succeed,
try, try, try again.

These are the types of things I have heard over the years.  Laziness being the worst problem.  Though massive paperwork should be cut down on.  Anyways, not sure why you are claiming I'm a conspiracy theorist for saying this.  I've lived here a long time and though I haven't had the trouble myself, I do know of other folks experiences and have read enough stories to figure it out.  Even now, some folks in 2021 are describing their experiences online and problems they have had here "Every expat in Korea" group.

I wouldn't say conspiracy theorist, but some of the stories you share, well, anyone with a lick of streetsmarts would take one look at those and say "You know, there might be more to this than what you're telling me..."

Like, you should be skeptical of some of these claims and not just taking them at face value. You're only getting one side of the story and while you say I am biased, and that is probably the case (everyone has bias), I think you should probably consider that you're biased, and potentially more biased. That and just so many of these stories begin with "So me and my friends were out drinking..."

Like at no point in your citing of these tales, have you ever considered the possibility that the person isn't giving the whole story or might be at fault. Nor have you given two shits about what the other party's view is. That s why some might think you are a bit off on this.

Can I have a sample?

I've never had a sample of an apartment. Is it a mini-model? That would be cool.

Actually VanIslander, I don't mean to be a nitpicker, but I am compelled to correct these kinds of errors.  One would provide an "example" of an apartment in China, rather than a sample.  Not mocking you, but how one would provide a sample of an apartment?  HaHaHa, that would certainly be a sight!

Sadly, in my area, there aren't many options for renting.
I've looked at all the nearby options and they are in worse condition than my current place.
I thought about moving to the city nearby, but it would add a really long commute to work, and I'd have to spend over 240,000won per month to get to school and back.
I think my current apartment, while it has a lot of room and is really close to my schools, I think there is A LOT of hidden mold in places I both can't see and get to, and it seems like it might be the cause of all my health issues over the last year. As, every hospital visit has shown me in the normal/healthy range (other than my weight which should be okay now).

Been there in the countryside years ago with the moldly old uninsulated buildings.  You gotta rip of the wallpaper and repaint the walls with some kind of water sealant paint or material.  See if you can coat the windows with anything too.  Then, put new wallpaper up over it and a color of your liking.  If you know a Korean who can translate (not in the school), just do it without asking permission.  Do it first.  What are they gonna do?  Place will look better.  But first rip off wallpaper and scrub clean walls with hot soapy wayter, bleach, etc.  Go to town on it. 

Check with a paint store and an interior store.  Once this is done, check your furniture to see if it has any mold on it to be cleaned.  Keep all your furniture a couple of inches or more away from the wall.  To allow air flow.  Once all okay, get a good dehumifier.  Air con prob has one already during summer.  Winter on the hottest heating days you may need a humidifier too.  But often you will need a dehumidifier.  Run that bad boy all day when you are out, especially rainy days or winter days.  Should be a self shutting off one. 

Actually VanIslander, I don't mean to be a nitpicker, but I am compelled to correct these kinds of errors.  One would provide an "example" of an apartment in China, rather than a sample.  Not mocking you, but how one would provide a sample of an apartment?  HaHaHa, that would certainly be a sight!

A shame your basketweaving degrees never had Statistics.  Probablities, sample sizes, standard deviation, etc?  Gotta go back to the drawing board.....