The tragic reality hit home just days ago: a Japanese mother and daughter on a trip to Seoul were struck by a severely inebriated driver on a sidewalk, resulting in the death of one.
My heart goes out to the bereaved family, whose joyous memories were shattered by this tragedy in a foreign land.
For me, a long-term resident who has been married to a Korean and living here for over 20 years, this accident is not a distant problem. The image of drunk driving in South Korea, as seen by an outsider tourist, is vastly different from the reality I experience as a resident.
The common perception of “South Korea as a nation of drunk drivers” is half right and half wrong.
