"Going to Seongsu-dong?" Japanese Girl Group Faces Taxi Refusal in Seoul

Japanese Girl Group Refused by Taxi in Seoul
Taxi Drives Off After Hearing Destination
Online Commenters Voice Criticism

A video showing members of the Japanese girl group Cutie Street being refused a taxi ride in Seoul has sparked controversy. In the footage, the group, who were visiting Korea, can be seen telling the driver their destination, only for the taxi to drive away without picking them up. This has once again brought the issue of inconvenience for taxi users back into the spotlight.

Japanese girl group Cutie Street members experiencing taxi refusal while trying to catch a taxi in Seoul. Cutie Street YouTube

According to a video released on Cutie Street's official YouTube channel on May 1, the members visited Korea to film content for YouTube. The controversial scene occurred when they tried to hail a taxi in Euljiro, Seoul, to travel to Seongsu-dong.

In the released footage, a taxi stopped in front of the members and the driver asked, "Where are you going?" When the members replied, "Seongsu," the taxi drove off without picking them up.

One member, who was approaching the taxi to get into the back seat, was startled and stepped back as the car suddenly pulled away. The members appeared flustered, saying, "We said Seongsu, and the driver just said bye-bye?" It is reported that they waited for about 30 minutes at the same spot before finally getting another taxi.

Online commenters who saw the footage reacted by saying, "Does taxi refusal still happen these days?", "Taxi refusals are truly embarrassing," and "It's shameful behavior toward foreign tourists." Some also pointed out that "Koreans often experience this problem too," criticizing the ongoing practice of taxi refusal.

This case also highlights the inconvenience that foreign tourists experience when traveling in Korea. According to Yanolja Research, a travel and tourism research institute, which analyzed 7,260 travel posts uploaded to the global online community Reddit over the past three years, the proportion of posts mentioning negative experiences in Korea was 11%, higher than in Japan (7%).

The most frequently cited source of inconvenience was digital issues (27.8%), followed by tourist information and guidance (16.4%), transportation (13.1%), and payment (12.0%). As transportation-related inconveniences are a significant category, incidents such as taxi refusals can leave foreign tourists with a negative impression of Korea as a travel destination.

Meanwhile, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, if a taxi driver is found to have refused a ride, the driver faces a fine of 200,000 won and a warning for the first offense. For a second offense, the penalty increases to a fine of 400,000 won and a 30-day suspension of the taxi driver's license. A third offense results in a fine of 600,000 won and revocation of the driver's license.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.