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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, September 16, 2007

Seoul's traffic jams almost never let up

By Jeff Chung

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

The past comes back, with a surprise, in "Karl and Su-Jung."

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South Korea is populated by an estimated 49 million people, more than 10 million of whom are in Seoul.

With such a densely populated area, you can't avoid traffic congestion. In Hawai'i, we have some very predictable hot spots — townbound in the morning gets pretty hairy from the 'Ewa/Pearl City side and, sure enough, outbound at the end of the workday.

In Seoul, however, there is traffic nearly all times of the day, and for interesting reasons.

First, it's important to note that Seoul is divided by the Han River, probably the only river you see in Korean dramas. North of the Han River is Kangbuk; south is Kangnam. Bridges and subways cross the Han River, and during bottleneck periods, that can take nearly an hour.

The typical breakdown of a traffic day in Seoul goes like this:

Professionals getting to work and children en route to school clog the traffic ways from 7 to 9 a.m. After that, until noon you see women of leisure getting together to find out what is going on in society, their favorite dramas, the latest trends or out shopping before the lunch rush, which is from noon to 2 p.m. Kindergartners are out at 1:30 p.m., so you see moms rushing to pick up kids.

The least-congested time of the day is from 2 to 3 p.m., a slice of quiet until school lets out. Then, from 3 to 5 p.m. is when students are rushed to their extracurricular studies (English class, music lessons, sports and study hall). At the same time, parents are grocery shopping or heading home to start cooking dinner. The worst time is from 5:30 to 8 p.m., when commuters are guaranteed to be stuck in traffic. People are getting off work and going on to dinner meetings or social outings.

Most Seoul locals know not to make appointments that require you to cross the Han River at this time of the day.

Traffic clears a bit between 8 and 11 p.m.; you can easily get from one end of town to the other in less than 45 minutes, a trip that otherwise might take twice that long.

It's quite difficult to get a taxi at 11 p.m., since it's the end of the shift, and at midnight many are in a rush to get home before a curfew. Taxi drivers are very picky and can refuse you if you're a short fare. When a taxi pulls up, customers yell destinations. Taxi drivers will either say get in or simply drive on.

Strangers often share rides. If you are going the direction an occupied taxi is headed, drivers can stop and take you on. Still, it's not recommended for women to share fares with strangers.

Knowledgeable taxi drivers can really save you money if they are experienced and know alternate routes and shortcuts. Selecting the right bridge to cross the Han River can save 10 minutes or more during heavy traffic.

And just like you see in many movies, many taxi drivers in Seoul have an opinion on most news topics of the day.

THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES

'BRIDE FROM VIETNAM'

Episodes 11 and 12

Tonight at 7: Young-min comes to the hotel to find Ji-young and witnesses Ji-young and her mother in a drunken stupor. Ji-young's mother tells him she's actually been in prison, not living in London as Ji-young said. Young-min's mother starts to get suspicious of Ji-young as well.

Tonight at 8: Ok-kyong follows Ji-young and finds Ji-young's mother and a younger man in an embarrassing state. She is outraged by Ji-young's deceit, and decides to break up her son's marriage.

'KANGNAM MOM'

Episodes 9 and 10

Tomorrow at 7:50 p.m.: Miss Han finds Sang-won living with Min-joo, and thinks they're in a relationship. She still feels uneasy after she hears the explanation, and advises Sang-won to move. One of the moms sees Soo-mi's husband with another woman and finally realizes what Soo-mi has been instigating, all to cover up her secret.

Tuesday at 7:50 p.m.: Sang-won is discouraged by students' attitudes about school. Sang-won happens to see Min-joo working as a singing hostess. Miss Han follows Sang-won to see his mother. Min-joo is detained at the police department for being a singing hostess.

'THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR'

Episodes 5 and 6

Wednesday at 7:50 p.m.: Joon-suk finds Yoon-hee amusing, because of her unique personality. Detective Kang comes to Dan Myung-hee to question her about the murder case, but she dies of excessive bleeding. When the detective searches her computer, he discovers that she's been stalking Soo-chan, and the victim and Soo-chan grew up in the same town.

Thursday at 7:50 p.m.: Soo-chan finds out that his first love, Soo-yun, was murdered and he's the prime suspect. Duk-gil tells Soo-chan that he's Go-ni's real father. Joon-suk finds himself waiting for Yoon-hee and enjoying her company. Soo-chan gets fired for his relationship with his colleague.

'KARL AND SU-JUNG'

Episodes 1 and 2

Friday at 7:50 p.m.: Oh Su-jung is still unwed in her mid-30s, working as a manager at a jewelry shop. Being the "it" girl during high school and college, she's still waiting for Mr. Perfect to come along. Ko Man-su was an overweight boyfriend of Su-jung's who got dumped at the altar on their wedding day when Su-jung finds out he failed to pass the bar exam. Fast-forward eight years, when Man-su returns to Korea as Karl Ko, a hunky PGA champion.

Saturday at 7:50 p.m.: Su-jung finds out Karl Ko is Ko Man-su, and goes to see Pil-suk to enlist her help. But Pil-suk tells her that Man-su is now out of her league, and she should find someone more suitable for her.