Korean Motorcycle Culture
For a Westerner, Korea is a land of differences. In many respects, Korean culture and most western cultures are 180 degree opposites.
While I freely and often criticize Korean politics, behaviors, and other aspects of society that I find unacceptable anywhere and anytime, I have always made it a personal policy to try to never criticize Korean culture. Culture issues are at the heart of any nation or people’s existence and, in my opinion, are off limits to critcism by outsiders. Often the line is vague, and often society and culture overlap.
Although I try not to be negative about Korean culture, I often find amusement in Korean culture. I find amusement in things that are so completely different from my American culture that I cannot easily comprehend them or wrap my mind around them. One thing that has always intrigued and amused me is what I call “leisure uniforms.”
Anyone who has been in Korea for any length of time has noticed “leisure uniforms.” It is almost an unwritten cultural law that anyone engaging in a particular leisure activity must wear a particular uniform. For example, Koreans who enjoy walks in the hills or mountains will wear the “mountaineer uniform”, which consists of a multi-pocketed vest (ususally red), very large backpack stuffed full of something or other, a tin cup hanging off the packpack, a floppy hat (men) or big sunvisor (women), gloves, chino-style hiking pants, knee-high thick woolen argyle socks (even in August), giant high-top leather hiking boots, and large metal ice-pick/walking-stick.
Korean biking culture is no different. It also has its uniforms. Being a biker in America is the ultimate form of individuality and self-expression. Each bike is unique, and each rider is unique in his physical appearance, dress, style, and attitude. Although many may wear the same motorcycle club patch, each rider is a distinct individual. In Korea, there are basically four types of “biker uniform” that are most frequently seen. They are the “regular uniform,” the “policeman uniform,” the “HOG uniform,” and the “freak uniform.” Like American bikers, Korean bikers are individuals outside of societal norms. However, in contrast to American bikers, who are separate from society and different from one another, Korean bikers tend to be separate from society and different in exactly the same way.
The “regular uniform” which is nearly universal for the under 45-years old crowd, consists of a half-helmet, eye cover (usually sunglasses), a bandana or other face cover pulled up to directly below the glasses, leather clothes, and boots. They look something like this:
Sometimes different uniforms will travel together. In this next picture, you can see “regular uniform” riding behind “policeman uniform.”
“Policeman uniform” is a truly interesting specimen of Korean biking culture. Policemen uniform people are people that spend lots and lots and lots of money to make themselves and their bikes as policeman-like as possible. They ususally ride white cop-style bikes with cop red and blue lights. They usually wear cop-style clothes, including pants with piping on the sides, cop-style badges, cop-style helmets, cop-style communication equipment, cop-style sunglasses, and cop-style rain gear. Mind you, to the best of my knowledge, NONE of these guys are real policemen.
Another large group of bikers in Korea are the HOG (Harely Owners Group) members, who take GREAT pride in their membership in the Harley Owners Group. The “HOG uniform” consists of vests and jackets containing every pin, patch, and emblem that the HOG members can get their hands on and affix to their clothing. They are REALLY proud of their membership in HOG, despite the fact that all it takes to join is $50…you don’t even need to own a Harley.
The HOG uniform is tightly regulated by the Korea Chapter of HOG. The Korea chapter has strict rules regarding which patches and pins you can and cannot wear on your vest and where on your vest certain patches and pins may or may not be warn. These rules and restrictions do not seem to bother the HOG uniform wearer. In fact, many seem to be entirely contented to proudly display their cloned HOG uniform:
Especially this old, pony-tailed dude, who appears to be the president of a local HOG branch:
The “freak uniform” is worn by those people who truly want to express their individuality and make a bold statement to Korean society. That state appears to be, “I am the baddest Mo-Fo on the planet, and you do not want to mess with me!” As to whether or not they actually convey this message to you, or whether they convey and entirely different message, I will withhold my judgment and allow you to decide for yourself.
Sometimes, the freak uniform wearer is caught between the HOG world and his own desire to express himself as a separate and distinct human entity. The can walk in both worlds and wear their HOG uniform as a valid accessory to their freak uniform:
Lest you thing this guy is a complete individual, he has at least one kindred “freak uniform” friend who is being different in the same way:
Freak uniforms can run from the subtlely unusual pilot-who-lost-his-fighter-plane uniform…
to whatever THIS guy is:
I wonder if this dude has any relations amongst the Tusken Raiders (Sandpeople) from Star Wars…
Maybe there is a good reason the passengers hide their identities behind dark glasses and masks.
As an added bonus, I will just say something about the motorcycle itself. The term “Garbage Wagon” is a biker term referring to a motorcycle with all of the original parts remaining on the bike and the owner adding every imaginable accessory and piece of chrome to the bike… basically a stock bike with a ton of garbage thrown on it. While this is certainly not unique to Korea, they do have a way of taking the garbage wagon to the next level:
Now, because of the differences in riding culture between the US and Korea, I am silly-looking outcast because I ride a stripped-down, bare-essentials Harely, don’t cover my face, have no desire to look like a cop, and have my HOG patch and pin sitting in my desk drawer at home.
Click on this link to see video taken at the HOG ralley a couple of years ago showing some of the types of riders being different in the same way.