A growing number of young North Koreans are turning to private driving instructors. These private lessons are seen as far more efficient and affordable than official driving schools.
“Hiring a private instructor has become really popular with young people in Chongjin who want to learn to drive. A month of lessons costs about 500 Chinese yuan,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently.
Most driving instructors are current or former drivers who worked for the military, government agencies, or state enterprises.
The tutoring package officially includes 120 hours of instruction over a month—four hours daily. But since these instructors have day jobs, they usually teach just two hours on weekdays and four hours on Sundays.
Because this kind of paid tutoring is illegal, instructors only feel safe teaching close friends or people who come with trusted recommendations. Both sides frame the arrangement as a personal favor rather than a business transaction to avoid trouble with authorities.
Official driving instruction in North Korea happens only at state-run driving centers, which offer a formal year-long program covering not just driving but also vehicle repair and maintenance.
Getting into these centers requires an organizational recommendation that’s nearly impossible to obtain without paying bribes. Even after admission, students must pay additional bribes to staff members. All told, graduating from a driving center can cost thousands of yuan.
Private lessons, by contrast, cost just 500 yuan total—300 yuan for instruction and 200 yuan for fuel.
That’s why most young people are avoiding the official centers and choosing private instruction instead.
“Young people can scrape together 500 yuan, but not the thousands needed for driving school. It makes perfect sense they’d go for private lessons—less time, less money,” the source explained.
Determined to drive
Of course, you can’t get a driver’s license without completing official training at a driving center. But assistant drivers with two years of accident-free experience can also take the driving test. Some young people are working as assistant drivers with the goal of eventually getting licensed.
“A driver’s license is all you need to get hired as a driver. It’s easy to make a living driving—you can earn good money from a single market delivery or even siphon off a bit of gasoline to sell on the side. Since young people today really value well-paying work, they’re determined to learn to drive, even if they can’t afford their own car,” the source said.
“In the past, people would just give up when things got tough. But today’s young people see driving as a guaranteed way to make money, so they’re working delivery jobs and other gigs to save up for driving lessons.”
