Laws differ slightly from state to state and region to region in the US, but it's universally true that they are much stricter about illegal parking. The scenes we see in movies where people just pull over anywhere downtown and rush inside? That's just movie stuff. There are tons of parking spots with coin meters on the street, designated areas only allowed during specific times, and private paid parking lots that are quite expensive hourly. Sometimes, if you talk nicely to the parking attendant, you can park longer for a small fee.

But if you think you can get away with just parking carelessly on the street or mistakenly parking on private property, you'll get hit with a high-cost ticket, or if you're caught with accumulated unpaid tickets, they'll slap a boot on your wheel, and sometimes, you get towed immediately.

If you get towed, you have to pay the towing fee, accumulated overdue fines or other extra fees at the impound lot, submit all kinds of documentation, and pay another fee just to get your car back. It ends up being a result that makes you spit blood (a horrible financial nightmare).

The biggest spectacle is when the car owner witnesses the towing moment and rushes over, begging the tow truck driver to drop the car since they're back. Tow trucks almost never listen to that plea, and even if they just lift it up and put it down right there, they charge a fee.

That's when the police come, things get chaotic, and the owner's entire extended family comes out to take their side... It usually ends with the car being towed or the owner paying the fee and grumbling away. Also, it seems like the city often commissions this enforcement and towing to private companies. Since private companies make money the more they enforce and tow, they are seriously dedicated. Their attitude is different from Korean public officials who get the same salary whether they process 10 cases or 100 cases. Lee Myung-bak's privatization caused a lot of harm, but I wish we'd privatize this part.

My neighborhood is always a mess and dangerous due to illegal parking. When I call the district office, they always say they are short-staffed. I'm sick of hearing that, and I think it would be much better to just entrust it to a private company and share the profits.

Here’s a US enforcement video. It’s kinda fun lol.