unilad homepage
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • World News
    • Crime
    • Health
    • Money
    • Sport
    • Travel
  • Film and TV
    • Netflix
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Woman finally passed driving test after 960 attempts and spending over $14,000 on lessons

Home> News> World News

Published 19:12 14 Jan 2026 GMT

Woman finally passed driving test after 960 attempts and spending over $14,000 on lessons

"Describe a difficult situation and how you overcame it"

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: Prodigioso 1000/YouTube

Topics: Cars, Money, World News

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a freelance journalist with words in Daily Express, Cosmopolitan UK, LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She is a former Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Cha Sa-Soon, aged 68, set a new Guinness World Record while working to get her driver's license.

There's nothing quite like being featured on an automotive service company's site, is there? But after taking a whopping 960 attempts and spending over $14,000, Cha Sa-soon certainly deserved a shout-out and has gone on to become somewhat of an international celebrity.

The 69-year-old woman from South Korea may have finally passed her test 15 years ago, but her story remains legendary on a global level, featured by a British automotive services company headquartered in the West Midlands, UK, alongside multiple Reddit threads.

In an interview with The New York Times, Sa-soon explained she didn't start learning how to drive until she was in her sixties because she was 'too busy raising [her] four children'.

Advert

But was it the theory side or the practical side of the driving test that Cha Sa-soon struggled with?

Cha Sa-soon started learning to drive in her sixties (Cha Sa soon Hyundai Television Commercial/ YouTube)
Cha Sa-soon started learning to drive in her sixties (Cha Sa soon Hyundai Television Commercial/ YouTube)

Well, hailed by the company as 'a national celebrity for her tenacity and commitment,' the RAC details how Cha Sa-soon battled with both elements of obtaining her driver's license.

It explains that Sa-Soon first attempted the written theory test in April 2005, but sadly didn't pass.

However, she valiantly ploughed on, and after doing so many exams, she did the equivalent of an exam 'every day, five days a week over three years,' she finally passed.

Alas, up next was the practical test, which posed many more hurdles - 100, to be exact.

Sa-soon ultimately took a total of a staggering 960 exams in a bid to get her driving license, as one YouTuber commented: "A woman of pure determination and sheer will."

Should the 69-year-old decide to apply for any jobs, she certainly has one hell of a story to tell if asked the question: "Describe a challenge you overcame."

But why was Sa-soon so adamant about obtaining her driver's license?

Sa-soon is reported to have spent an estimated £11,000 ($14,000) on all the exams, according to the RAC.

However, it was worth it in her eyes, given her need to own a vehicle to drive to support her vegetable-selling business and to take her grandchildren to the zoo.

And when she did eventually pass? Sa-soon's instructor from Jeonbuk Driving School told The New York Times: "We all went out cheering and hugged her, giving her flowers."

I should hope so with the flowers given, how much Sa-soon spent in obtaining her license - the staggering figure of $14,000, not even including the cost of all the driving lessons she must've undergone in a bid to prepare for the practical test.

The instructor added: "We hadn't had the guts to tell her to quit because she kept showing up."

Heartwarmingly, after hearing of Sa-soon's passing of her test after her 960th attempt, South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai gifted her a new vehicle worth around $15,000.

Good things come to those who wait, I guess?

  • Netflix loses court battle over raising prices the past 7 years and ordered to pay refunds
  • Man driving Tesla for a year compares cost of charging to gas and reveals shocking difference
  • Horrifying dashcam footage shows moment self-driving Tesla suddenly veers off road and crashes
  • Man who won $2,000,000,000 on Powerball reveals reason for latest spending after it sparks debate

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
4 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • Raymond Hall/GC Images
    an hour ago

    Drew Barrymore waves goodbye to bras as she admits she’s ‘over’ wearing them

    "I don't care if these sausages fall down to my knees," the actress declared on her talk show.

    Celebrity
  • Adrian Shellard / University of Calgary
    2 hours ago

    University Marks 60th Anniversary with Record-Breaking Dinosaur Gathering

    They managed to dwarf the existing Guinness World Record by more than 200

    News
  • Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images
    4 hours ago

    Dr.Oz shares reason behind Trump’s diet soda obsession as he claims it ‘kills cancer’

    The comments came amid an ongoing shakeup of US nutritional guidelines in a bid to 'Make America Healthy Again'

    News
  • Jesse Grant/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
    7 hours ago

    Actor Jennie Garth opens up about 'bad vibes' while working with Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider

    The actor opened up about the feeling on set

    Celebrity