taxi

Recently there was an accident in Busan where a Japanese woman was ripped off by a taxi driver. When she asked for a receipt, 39,000 won was written on the sheet while the number on the taximeter was only 19,000 won. She asked the driver about the extra fee, knowing that the extra 20,000 won was added out of nowhere. The driver told her that it was a mistake. Luckily she only had to pay 19,000 won eventually, but she got enraged by how she was mistreated.

Where did this year go? I have no idea, but I’m definitely going to miss it. I hope it’s the same case for everyone else out there. I just hope 2012 turns out to be as awesome. The world not ending would be nice too.

Anyways, I sincerely apologize for the horrible lateness of this comic. While I did have a fun holiday, I ended up getting really sick over the weekend, and I’ve been trying to recover ever since. I seem to end up getting sick whenever I get time off. It’s a horrible cycle.

Anyone recognize the other characters in this week’s strip?

By the way, for those of you that can’t read Korean…

감사합니다! = Thank you!

Because people seemed to enjoy the last one, here’s another fun taxi story.

I was heading home late, it was cold, and the subway can make for a long walk, so I decided to catch a cab. I still get a little nervous doing it; navigating through the neighborhood can be difficult, depending on where I’m coming from. Sometimes it’ll involve u-turns, going through random alleys, sharp rights and lefts, going around buildings and parking lots and other things I frequently forget the names of. And this means I have to do a lot of talking.

“Please take the first right.”

The taxi driver glanced in the rearview mirror. “Oh… where are you from?” Foiled by my speech again. I paused. Maybe it was the kimchi at dinner, maybe it was the Cass we had afterwards, but at that moment, I wasn’t feeling particularly Chinese.

Author's note: 'Life in Korea' posts are aimed at the newer expats amongst us. If you have a more experienced perspective, comment away!

Sometime in the near future:I stand on the corner on a lovely spring afternoon, gazing out at a sea of smiling, friendly Korean faces set against the backdrop of the lovely cityscape that is downtown Seoul. A hint of honey wafts up from an open sewer vent as I am approached by a beckoning woman...I wake up. I am late. No time for the subway, gonna have to cab it this morning.On the corner, one