September 29, 2012. Where We Go In A Hurry

In Korea, the products you buy dictate your social status, and often are only purchased for that purpose. For example, the oven: nobody bakes in Korea. They don't make cakes or cookies or baked turkey, none of that, yet if you have an oven in your house it means you are well off. They more often get used for storage and I wouldn't be surprised if nobody really knows what they are for.
Cars are somewhat like this. Public transportation can be troublesome during traffic hours and after midnight (because it is closed), but it's fast and reaches almost every inch of Seoul. Cars, on the other hand, are always available and take you wherever, but there is no parking. Seoul has a general lack of space, and most people don't own cars anyway, so businesses much rather use any space they can for people than cars. Even if a car got you there quicker, then, you would spend more time looking for parking and save no time in the end.