Why KwakTube, Who Took a Taxi in Alaska, Was Surprised by a Korean Driver's Monthly Income

Alaska Bethel, Majority of Taxi Drivers Are Koreans
Taxi Sharing Available, Fare Charged Per Passenger
"Monthly Income 20 Million Won... Difficult to Supply Daily Necessities"

A Korean man driving a taxi in Alaska, USA, revealed a monthly income reaching 20 million won. Travel YouTuber Kwak Junbin, known as 'KwakTube,' highlighted the life of an Alaska taxi driver on his YouTube channel 'Kwak Junbin's World Driver's Restaurant' on the 24th. This video became a hot topic, surpassing 700,000 views within a day of posting. In the video, Kwak Junbin arrived in Bethel, Alaska, via Anchorage Airport from Los Angeles (LA) Airport.

[Image source: Screenshot from YouTube channel 'Gwak Junbin's World Food Restaurant']

Kwak Junbin began sightseeing in Bethel by hailing a taxi. However, most taxi drivers in Alaska were Korean, and Kwak was able to talk with a 10-year veteran taxi driver named 'James.' According to him, Alaska taxis operate uniquely with a 'shared ride' system. James told Kwak, who was trying to place luggage in the back seat, "A passenger is boarding," explaining, "In Bethel, there are not enough taxis, so shared rides are a familiar culture." Subsequently, three more passengers boarded the back seat. They traveled to a lodging 10 minutes away, each paying $8, totaling $24 (about 32,000 won).

Surprised to see that each passenger paid separately despite sharing one taxi, Kwak asked, "You get $24 for a 10-minute drive?" James explained, "Here, we charge per head. It's $8 per person. This is the only place in the world where you get paid per head." When asked about daily income, he replied, "I earn about $750 (1 million won) a day. The average monthly income is 20 million won. After living expenses, about 12 million won remains." He added, "I work all week. The earnings are better than on the mainland," but also lamented, "It's hard to get daily necessities, and the repetitive routine is boring. I get bitten a lot by mosquitoes and bugs." Another driver mentioned, "(Bethel) restaurants are very expensive. They are three times more expensive than in LA."

Bethel is known for its tundra climate, making food production impossible, so all food and daily necessities are delivered by air. Earlier, Kwak was puzzled to see some passengers at the airport carrying large amounts of groceries. When he asked one passenger, "Why are you buying eggs?" the person explained, "I'm bringing a week's worth of food. They are available in Bethel, but extremely expensive." Indeed, Kwak later experienced Bethel's high prices at a supermarket, which were three times higher than in LA. A bag of snacks cost 15,000 won, a block of tofu 7,000 won, and 12 eggs 10,000 won. After spending 110,000 won on ingredients for one meal, he said, "I don't think I could live here."