Kim Sung-joo and his son rode a bus Taiwan paying 10 times more fares. (image: MBC)
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – Korean entertainer Kim Sung-joo paid 10 times more than he should have for a bus ride in Taiwan, in a story that became the talk of the town.
In the episode of MBC’s reality show “Dad! Where Are You Going?” broadcast on December 14, Kim and his son Min-yool took a city bus in Taichung City, Taiwan. Kim asked the bus driver in English how much the bus fare was, but the driver stuttered, “4… 47.” Kim interpreted it as 447 Taiwan dollars and paid the driver 500 dollars, even though the bus fare was actually only 47 dollars.
Following the incident, Taiwanese netizens criticized the driver saying he had damaged Taiwan’s reputation.
An official at the local Office of Passenger Transportation apologized through Taiwanese media by saying, “The driver could not stop him from paying too much not only because he was too nervous to speak well, but also because he thought Kim was paying for other passengers. It was a big misunderstanding and we feel sincerely sorry for what the travelers experienced. We are also willing to refund the fare.”
To that, an MBC official responded that it wasn’t a big deal. “As our program is a reality show, our staff didn’t intervene in the scene when Kim paid more than he needed to.”
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
