Korean DMV

In Korea it is easy to get along without a vehicle.  Their mass transit system is very efficient.  Buses, railways, subways, taxis and planes take you most anywhere you want to go at affordable prices.  Here at Handong the school shuttle system complements all the other transportation by running a route into town every half hour.  Still, for a Southern Californian who grew up in a culture where the car is king, there is a sense of a loss of freedom.  This loss is particularly noticeable when it's dark and cold and you're waiting for the shuttle bus to come by as the snow is falling.  As convenient as the transportation system is, it always seemed that a trip into town took 3-4 hours.  So, when another professor who is moving in January put the family car up for sale, we were very interested.   We purchased their 8 passenger Kia minivan with a diesel engine.  Part of our agreement is that they keep using the car until January, but it feels good to have wheels again.  

Like California, you must have insurance to register a car.  A phone call took care of the insurance.  The professor friend called his insurance agent who, in turn called us.  I gave the agent the information he needed over the phone and had my insurance company in the US email a declaration that we had no claims on our auto policy over the past 3 years.  Susan was able to pay for the insurance through a direct bank transfer using an ATM machine (surprisingly, we can even use this feature to transfer money directly to our US bank account, though it doesn't work the other way from the US to Korean accounts.)  After confirming payment, the Korean agent emailed the declaration page from our new policy and gave me a call.  He cautioned me to be careful to never follow a taxi in Korea while driving.  Taxis are allowed to stop anywhere to pick up a fare.  If you have even a minor contact with a taxi, Korean law (undoubtedly influenced by a strong taxi union) requires the taxi driver be taken directly to the hospital and he is given at least a month off of work to recover.  All this has to be paid for by the insurance company - hence the lecture to the new policy holder.  Another interesting tidbit gleaned from the insurance agent is that, in Korea, you can park illegally as long as you put the hood of your car up and move within an hour.  I would think this is designed for vehicle breakdowns, but the law is broad enough to allow this even if there is no breakdown.  Why must it be moved within an hour?  That's because every insurance policy includes roadside service.  If you car breaks down, you simply call roadside service who will respond within 30 minutes.  They change tires, provide 3 liters of free fuel and will tow the vehicle up to 10 kilometers at no cost if necessary.  So, in Korea there is no need to be disabled on the side of the road for longer than an hour.  Pretty efficient system.

Now that we had the insurance, it was time to transfer the registration at the Korean Motor Vehicle Department.  It's located on the ground floor of the local sports arena, next to the playing field.  My guess is that, with land at a premium, it makes sense to use the stadium during the week for government offices.  The attendants in the office couldn't have been more helpful.  Susan did the interpreting and the professor friend accompanied us to make sure all the paperwork was in order.  My job was to sign a series of documents written entirely in Korean.  I have absolutely no idea what the documents said.  This probably seems odd, but in my experience is entirely normal for foreigners here in Korea.  I love old stuff, and was delighted to see that Korea allows you to use a seal instead of a signature on documents.  The seal is red and has your name inscribed in Korean.  You dip the seal into a sponge like pad at the  government office and then affix the seal to the document.  I NEED ONE OF THESE.  What a nice 18th century affectation!    The professor had one of these and its now on the top of my Christmas list.  Susan paid the transfer tax and we were on our way within a half an hour.  At the Department of Motor Vehicles In California, assuming they weren't closed that day due to the budget crisis, we'd still be in the first line at the information desk waiting to ask which line we go to next.

Below are couple of photos of the new vehicle.