Majang-dong, Double Fare! Stories from the Taxi Driver’s Seat

Most of us know taxis from the passenger seat. Far fewer make a living behind the wheel.

These days I rarely hear ttabeul, the Korean rendering of “double.” Before the 1997 financial crisis, riders sometimes offered extra to get a cab during the busiest hours. Saying ttabeul meant they were offering twice the fare.

Fares have gone up, and people are more cautious about spending. The expression has largely faded from the street.

A Book of Misadventures Behind the Wheel

The title Majang-dong, Double Fare! brought that earlier Seoul back to mind. The book’s subtitle describes it as a record of taxi drivers’ ordeals. It collects accounts of scams they encountered.

The stories could have made for bleak reading. Jang tells them with enough humor to make you curious about the things a driver might see on a shift.

The Pattern Behind the Scams

The episodes share a pattern. The people running the scams work together, plan carefully and look for something the target wants badly enough to overlook what is happening.

An unexpected windfall from someone you have never met is a reason to stop and think. A stranger rarely has a reason to hand you good fortune.

That seems obvious at a distance. Reading what happened to the drivers, I could imagine being drawn in myself if I were the one in front of the offer.

The back cover gives a taste of two of the stories.

• Driver Yun opened the trunk and undid the gift wrapping. The box contained a cracked jar full of sand, with crumpled newspaper to hold it in place. The wrapping had made it pass for a gift worth millions of won.
  • From episode 1, a story about a supposedly chance encounter
• Driver Choi was handcuffed as statements were taken. He managed to settle the matter the following morning, after his wife brought ten million won as compensation for the two passengers and he signed the necessary papers.
  • From episode 6, a story about trying to catch an affair

The book takes you through situations most passengers never see. Its humor makes the stories readable while leaving a sense of what the drivers had to deal with.

Book Information

A Record of Taxi Drivers’ Ordeals: Majang-dong, Double Fare!

Author

Jang Sun-yeong

Publication date

28 April 2008

ISBN13

9788993126112

View book on YES24

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