Korean Chauffeur Service 대리운전
Korea is one of the countries in the world where alcohol plays an important part in daily life. Alcohol is mostly consumed for social life, but is also very important in cultural aspect, for example in memorial service for the ancestors.
Rule of thumb: Don’t drink and drive. Driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05% is considered drunk driving in Korea. So even just one small shot of soju and lend you in trouble with the law, even if you still insist that you can still see and hear clearly. However it is impossible for someone to just drink one shot of soju during a meeting with co-workers or friends, and if one brought a car with them, what should they do? This is where the chauffeur service comes to exist.
They are called daeri unjeon (대리운전) in Korean. They are readily available 365 days a year and relatively affordable (they are more expensive than taxis but still much cheaper than the risk of getting caught!). And they are like a blessing in disguise.
Here’s how to use their service: After a joyous (hopefully!) drinking session, simply give them a call and tell them your exact location (where you are now and where you are going). Usually the restaurant will have name cards handy near the cashier. These companies are more like call taxi service. Only the difference is they are driving your car and not sending a car to pick you up. When the driver arrives, just hand him your car keys and sit back and relax (if possible, don’t fall asleep!). Don’t forget to tell your exact home address (there are many apartments with similar names in Korea. If you are a lightweight drinker, it is recommended to tell a friend who is more sober your address before you are getting too drunk).
How much is the fee, you asked? It is hard to say how much and there is no exact fare list on this because everything is depending on your location and unlike taxis, there is no meter in your car. And the calculation is based from where you ask the driver to come to the bar and the distance from the bar to your house. Mostly asked for about 30,000 – 40,000 won.
What about the chance of criminality of using this service? Happening mostly at night and in a situation where you are (more likely) vulnerable and off guard, here’re some tips on how to prevent any possible crime:
- Agreed on the price before paying (possible by asking the company so the driver won’t cheat you and increase the fee)
- Inform: Make sure that a friend knows that you are hiring a chauffeur service and tell them which number (company) you are calling. When you are departing with the car, make a call to a friend telling them you are going home, or anyone in your house (although not so recommended if you are going home really late at night or early morning) so that the phone calling is recorded.
- Try to have conversation with the driver to avoid you falling asleep and to check whether you are taken to the right place.
- If you are a woman, some companies offer woman drivers as well, so tell them if you want to have a woman driver to chauffeur you.
And one more tips to check how drunk you are: make a trip to the toilet every so often. So have no fear of drinking outside, the chauffeur service is only a call away!