Observations about cars in Korea

I had the opportunity to visit Korea this past summer for two weeks and I was intent on observing the automobiles and its industry.
South Korea is a thoroughly modern country with modern cars, trucks, busses, etc and with problems that go along with it.  A crowded city such as the capital of Seoul has tremendous traffic jams at all times of the day.  So utilizing the subway system is a great alternative to fight the traffic and the bus system seems to be very efficient as well.  But this country has a love with the automobile just like Americans do.  Traffic jams are much worse on Friday evenings, Saturday morning, and Sunday evenings as many Koreans escape the cities to the mountains for the weekend and then return.  (90% of Koreans claim they hike, which seems to be the national pastime).  There are some Jeep stores in Korea that sell Jeep branded clothing and outdoor supplies, not cars.
But this is blog focussed on auto dealerships and there are plenty there if you want to purchase a Hyundai or Kia.  In fact, over 90% of the Korean automotive market is made up of these two brands.  Other brands include SsongYong (owned by India's Mahindra) and Daewoo (owned by GM).  Most dealerships for these brands are located in storefronts that are about 1,000 to 2,000 square feet approximately with 4 to 5 automobiles in each showroom.  There is usually one representative sample for each model in the brand in each showroom.  In my observations, there was one or two salespersons each with a desk and of course there was the obligatory rack with brochures.  On top of each automobile was a price noting how many South Korean Won (currency) it would take to purchase the car.  If you want to figure out how much if would cost in American dollars, just divide the price by 1,000 and you get the price in American dollars.

Hyundai Avante, U.S. Elantra

Hyunadi Starex

Hyundai Starex

Pontiac Aztec Korean counterpart?

In Hyundai showrooms, the models were very similar in names and content.  The only model that had a different name was the Elantra, which is known as the Avante there.  Kia showrooms were set up the same way, except the models were named differently such as K5, K7, K9 among examples.  There were very little differences in most of the models between the U.S. spec and Korean spec automobiles.  But, I was impressed with most of the vehicles having automatically folding side mirrors so they won't get damaged getting sideswiped while parked.
Another difference is that navigation systems in the cars are very elaborate and detailed.  Most new and older automobiles will have at least an aftermarket GPS/navigation system that drivers rely on to avoid traffic jams, locate directions, and they seem to be much more trustworthy than here in the states.
Most of the taxicabs in Korea are late model Sonatas and what we know as Optima (K5).
Another thing about Hyundai is that it is a large conglomerate in Korea (even throughout the world) and it   owns the Kia brand.  Most Korean made Hyundai automobiles are produced in Ulsan.  Ulsan is known as a company town as it is home to Hyundai Heavy Industries (shipyards, heavy construction equipment, etc.) and most everything is branded Hyundai including department stores and hotels.  These other businesses are also located throughout Korea.  We toured the shipyard, but didn't tour the automobile plant, even though we passed it.
I would love to return to Korea even though I can't read a lick of Korean or pronounce anything, so everyone once in a while I would stop at a Kia or Hyundai dealership to get my fill of Korea for the time being!

Part of the large conglomerate!