The Korean Way (2): close encounters

My Korean teacher had an accident in front of Crown Hotel in Itaewon yesterday. As you can see from the photo above, the front of the car was totally wrecked. Luckily she was wearing her seatbelt, and the airbag blew, so she escaped with nothing more than a bruised lip. The car, well that's another story.

She called me at 8 a.m. and asked for help, saying she just had an accident. It shocked me (it took some time before I managed to get her to tell me she was all right), as well as surprised me: she is an excellent driver... but that is no protection against idiots, of course.
After allowing one of the tow truck drivers (these are very competitive guys) to take her car away I drove her to the Yongsan police station. Four cars were involved in the accident. The school bus driver, who was in front of her, admitted it was his fault, so we left the police station and she invited me to a nice sashimi lunch for helping her. (I should probably use the Korean word for raw fish instead: hoe). However, after half an hour her insurance agent called: the driver of the school bus had suddenly changed his story; now he claimed that my teacher had caused the accident, that all was her fault. She had to hurry back to the station to make a statement, and try to set things straight.
The policeman, a Seoul traffic cop who looked as he had seen everything, was luckily not convinced by the school bus driver. He ordered the bus back from the garage, and lined the vehicles up on a street for a reconstruction of the accident. After looking at impact damages, it was pretty clear what had happened. The cop angrily scolded the bus driver (at a rather loud volume, even for a Seoul police officer) and pointed out that his story could not possibly be true. It was evident that the bus driver was the cause of the accident, and he finally had to admit his guilt. We could all go home, but it took the whole day to sort out.

While we were waiting at the police station, four Americans showed up after a minor collision. Then they called the military police and quickly left. According to SOFA, Status Of Forces Agreement, Korean police have no jurisdiction over US soldiers or their families, so they can do pretty much what they want. However, no Korean has forgotten the tragedy 2002, when two schoolgirls were killed by an US army vehicle. The agreement between South Korea and USA is very similar to US agreements with Japan and the Philippines. These agreements have led to widespread protests in all three Asian countries.

The traffic in Seoul is very bad. Just how bad has to be seen in situ to be understood. Taxi drivers don't stop for red light, and the bus drivers are even worse. Pedestrians are fair game, and I've several times seen school kids narrowly escaping being run over when crossing the street. The "Quick-service" guys, motorcycle messengers/transporters, looking like something out of a "Mad Max"-movie with their battered, reinforced bikes, loaded with packages high up over their heads, are another problem. They veer in and out of the lanes, often driving on the sidewalks and generally behaving as if they are alone in the streets.
Streets and bridges are, however, in much better condition than in, say, New York in the 1980's, or in other big cities in Asia. There are too many cars, traffic culture is distinctly macho and reckless, and people drive way too fast. Close encounters take place all the time. Luckily the one yesterday was without bloodshed.