Hello guys and welcome back to another post. Today, I'll talk about different types of taxis available in South Korea.
Let's start with General taxis (ilban taxis). These taxis usually come in grey, silver, white and orange color. The color of a general taxi can vary from region to region. For example, in Seoul you will find the general taxis to be orange in color.
General taxis usually don't provide language translation services so if you are a foreigner visiting South Korea you will have trouble communicating with the driver as most of the drivers may not speak English and will speak only Korean.
So, it'll be good to learn some phrases in advance if you decide to take a General taxi. Also, these taxis are much cheaper than Mobeom taxis, which I'm going to talk about next.
Before moving on to Mobeom taxis let's go through some of the Korean phrases used while traveling by a taxi:
First greet the taxi driver.
X - 기사님,안녕하세요.
(gisanim,annyeonghaseyo)
Hello, driver.
Then you can tell where you want to go. Tell the name of your destination first and then add 가주세요 (gajuseyo). If the place name ends in consonant add 으로 (euro) after it and if it ends in a vowel add 로 (ro) after it.
For example :
명동으로 (myeongdong-euro) - as 명동 (myeongdong) ends in 'ㅇ' (consonant) add 으로 (euro) after it.
홍대로 (hongdae-ro) - as 홍대 (hongdae) ends in 'ㅐ' (vowel) add 로 (ro) after it.
X - 홍대로 가주세요.
(hongdaero gajuseyo)
Please take me to Hongdae.
Or
이태원으로 가주세요.
(itaewon-euro gajuseyo)
Please take me to Itaewon.
Or
명동으로 가주세요.
(myeongdong-euro gajuseyo)
Please take me to Myeongdong.
And when you reach your destination you can say please stop here to the driver:
여기서 세워 주세요.
(yeogiseo sewo juseyo)
Please stop here.
Mobeom taxis (Deluxe taxis) - These taxis are black in color and are very expensive as opposed to regular taxis. But it doesn't mean every balck taxi is a deluxe one because deluxe taxis are subjected to regional availability.
You wouldn't find deluxe taxis in every region of South Korea. To identify a deluxe taxi look for this word at the taxi's top: 모범 (mobeom).
These taxis provide a smooth and safe ride. The drivers are professionals with a minimum of five years of driving experience with no history of road accidents.
International taxis - International taxis provide facilities to foreigners. If you can't speak Korean then no worries because International taxi drivers can speak three languages, English, Japanese and Chinese fluently.
Understandably, international taxi's fare is higher than the general taxi fare. You need to make an online reservation via their website. International taxis have words written in English, Chinese and Japanese on them.
Jumbo taxis - As the name suggests, these taxis are spacious and can take in six to ten passengers. It is suitable for a large group of people with a large amount of luggage. Make sure to check the jumbo taxi sign on the side of the van.
So, I hope you learned something new from this post. That’s it for the post.
Until next time - HangugVocab
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