Reality vs. Dramas - Road Rules Do Not Apply

(Lee Min-ho in "The Heirs")

It's time. The hero has realized that he must rush to his heroine. He jumps into his PPL sports vehicle colored bold in crimson or indigo and blatantly defies every road rule created by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. But don't worry, for the drama at least, the car is cruising at well-below the speed limit while a camera on a rig films the desperate scene. It does beg the question, however: Do people really defy the laws of the road when emotions are high and need is overpowering in real life?

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In Seoul and the surrounding areas, the answer is often "yes". Especially if the person in question is the driver of a delivery moped or truck. These folks blaze through the streets because time is money. The delivery culture in Korea is centered around access to as many goods as possible and the speed at which they find themselves at your door. From coffee to groceries to ddeokbokki, it comes to you at your convenience, and in a grand old hurry. Moped drivers run red lights, drive on sidewalks, and park in front of businesses whether there are spaces to legally park or not. Pedestrians become adept at listening for the tell-tale 'vroom' of a moped and cars on the road are used to the weaving of the two-wheeled vehicles in and out of traffic.

(Renault Twizy)

Delivery trucks are similarly quick on the delivery and can weave as well as a dinky Renault Twizy. But personal-use cars on the road, while prone to speeding like in many places, do not dare to break road rules as often. Except when it comes to randomly stopping in bus lanes so the driver can pick up a crate of in-season fruit or wait to pick up a loved one. Bus drivers are so used to such happenings and indeed such skillful drivers, that they can artfully maneuver into any left over space to serve their passengers.

(Chae Soo-bin and Go Kyung-pyo in "Strongest Deliveryman")

But really, much like everywhere else, drivers on the road run the gamut from dutiful citizen to reckless driver. So the next time you see the handsome hero jerking his wheel left into an illegal U-turn, know that a similar happening probably won't occur in Korea all that often (unless it's by a moped.)

Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'

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