Obtaining a driving license in South Korea is both cheaper and easier than at home
Although Chinese learners might wait up to a year to pay $820 for a driving license, across the ocean lies a cheaper alternative. In South Korea, a license costs half the price and requires drivers to take just 13 hours of tuition – only 6 of which are actually spent driving – and drivers can receive their license within a week.
Once the learners become qualified, they can simply take their licenses back to China and take a written test to convert them. This loophole has led more than 70,000 Chinese nationals to become holders of South Korean licenses in the last 3 years.
Instructors, many of whom speak little or no Mandarin, often communicate the intricacies of driving safety through body language, although most of the lessons are actually taught on 'rooftop' courses where drivers have little actual experience of on-road motoring.
South Korea, it seems, has much more to offer young Chinese than simply K-Pop, fashion icons and shopping.