HOENGSEONG, Gangwon Province ― A sleek, black Porsche was fast approaching, its exhaust sounds roaring through the mountainous county of Hoengseong, about 70 kilometers east of Seoul.

The driver, Bae Young-ja, 73, wearing sunglasses, white racer gloves and a Porsche logo cap and pique shirt, rolled down the window.

“Follow me,” she said.

Then she accelerated briskly, rarely braking at the numerous corners leading to her house deep in the mountain.

“My Porsche goes really well. I like the way it looks and the way it handles,” Bae said after parking her 911 Targar in her greenhouse-like garage on a Friday afternoon.

“People I don’t even know come up and talk to me. I felt embarrassed at first about people’s curiosity but now I really enjoy it.”

Bae got her driver’s license in the 1960s when women drivers were a rare sight in Korea. While her engineer husband, Jeon Sang-oh, spent most of his time abroad on business, she found pleasure in driving.

“One day when I was in India she wrote a letter to me saying she was studying to earn her driver’s license. I tried to stop her out of safety concerns but could not persuade her,” said Jeon, 74, who himself has no license due to his frequent traveling until his retirement 10 years ago.

Her first car was Hyundai Motor’s Excel sedan, which was the only car in their neighborhood in Seoul at that time.

She said she was sometimes bullied by male drivers then. A truck driver once reprimanded her for no reason, shouting, “Hey woman, go home and cook for your family!”

“But I never felt intimidated and never hesitated to fight against them when I did nothing wrong,” she said, adding that she has never had a car accident. 

She has owned eight different vehicles ― four Hyundais, Renault Samsung Motors’ SM5, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mercedes-Benz E Class and the latest Porsche 911.

The Porsche, which she says she likes the best, has a special meaning for the couple who first met when they were in high school.

Back in 1962, Jeon was visiting Livorno, an Italian port city, and saw an elderly couple watching the sunset with their red sports car parked beside them. He dreamed of “doing that” some day with his wife.

Finally in 2011, the couple looked around Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam district, home to all the luxury car dealerships. They fell in love with the Porsche 911 Targa, the iconic sports car with a gigantic glass sunroof, at first sight.

“It was the right car we were waiting for,” Jeon said, recalling how his lifelong dream came true. The final price tag, with luxurious options added, was almost 200 million won ($180,000).

“We are not that rich. After retirement, we live on pensions and savings. But we know what makes our lives more enjoyable and decide to invest in that.”

No adjustment period was necessary for Bae to drive the 345-horsepower Porsche, she said.

“Driving a car like a Porsche actually requires a certain level of engineering knowledge. But I always have my expert husband in the passenger seat,” she said.

As of May, she has put more than 65,000 kilometers on the clock, traveling to every corner of the country. She got a ticket just once, for speeding.

“The maximum speed for me was 310 kilometers per hour. It felt like the car asked for its limit to get tested,” she said.

The couple, who settled in Gangwon Province almost 10 years ago, also participated in a recent rally event for Porsche owners in Korea. She completed the 16-lap race even though she came in last.

“Driving the Porsche has boosted my physical and mental health. I think I could drive until age 80,” she said. “My next car? A Lamborghini would be great!”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)