Sunday, June 10, 2007

Motorcycle and police Encounter

I love my apartment but my only complaint is its location. In Mokpo the hot spots in town reside in the old and new downtown areas. I am in North Harbor which is far away from both so I have been spending a lot of money on cabs. So it made sense to buy some transportation and I am now the proud owner of a used Sizuki 125 CC motorcycle. I had never driven one but with the help of my san sam niem (teacher, wrong korean spelling I know) Christa I was able to get enough training to ride on my own pretty quickly. Unlike California, getting a motorcycle is cheap and easy. Mine cost 500,000 won (about 500$) plus another 120,000 for a new helmet and wheel lock. That's it. No registration, no insurance, and no DL. A 125 CC engine and under do not require a drivers license. I think a big reason for this is the number of businesses that use motorcycles and scooters to deliver food and perform other services. Just a theory anyway. I found out the accuracy of this information very quickly. I was taking an evening cruise south of Mokpo checking out the great Korean landscape when I came to a red light in the middle of the freeway. I could have stopped but I didn't want to wreck the momentum and there were no cars anywhere so I ran it. In Korea stoplights are treated as more of a suggestion then command. Except when it's a cop trap. There were a group of five policeman waiting down the straightaway and they waved me in. My first ticket in another country I thought. Sweet " An yong ha sayo" said the senior policeman, Can I see driver license? "125 CC" I said motioning to the engine anio license. I showed him my ARC, and my Cali DL. 125 CC? ah ok. You have job asked the cop? Neh, Neh English Teacher I said. English teacher? ah ok. Shouldn't run red light, must stop. Neh neh, my bad I said. I apologize. He then tried to tell me something In Korean that I didn't understand. Don't understand? he said. Ok you may go. I got out of my first traffic ticket!! I think the policeman decided it was to much work to give me ticket when I didn't even have a license or understanding of his instructions so he released me. This made my day. I never would have gotten out of that in the states but in Korea I can. I rode back to Mokpo and this time did not run anymore red lights.