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A 70-year-old farmer passed the written part of his driving license test Monday on his 194th attempt, thus ending one man's personal odyssey to get behind the steering wheel - before coming unstuck in the practical part of the exam.
Oh Sang-baek from Uiseong County in Gyeongbuk Province scored 60 points in the written examination to edge him closer to a Class 2 driver's license last Thursday at the Mungyeong Driver's License Examination Office. In a nod to his success, the office gave him a Christmas card and a small gift.
Oh took, and failed, his first written examination in December 2002. The next day, he repeated the exercise, and the day after that.
In a fierce display of Korean resilience, he re-took the test almost daily at Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency and Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency's examination offices, only pausing when the demands of a busy farming season interrupted his studies. He finally scored enough points to apply for the course-driving test after two years of written-paper trial and error.
But he wasn't quite ready to hit the roads just yet.
After scoring more minuses than pluses on his first practical driving test, which took place at 3 p.m. Monday, Oh was undaunted.
"Rome wasn't built in a day," he said.
"I really need a driver's license for my work. I will come back everyday and take the test until the day I pass."
(Daegu, Shin Ji-eun, ifyouare@chosun.com )
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