Pope Francis squeezes into Kia in Seoul for South Korea tour

The Pope squeezes into a humble Kia on arrival in Seoul, following his request to travel in the smallest South Korean car available.
Pope Francis' choice of wheels during his five-day visit to South Korea has surprised many in the country, where important people rarely hit the streets in anything but expensive luxury cars.
After his arrival on Thursday, the pope left the airport in a compact black Kia that many South Koreans would consider too humble a conveyance for a globally powerful figure.
In a live television broadcast, the pope climbed into the back seat of the boxy Kia Soul, rolled down the window and waved.
Surrounded by a few bigger black sedans, the pope's compact car headed towards Seoul.
Francis' frugality and humble demeanour have received wide coverage in South Korea, a fiercely competitive country that celebrates ostentatious displays of status and wealth.
This national trait can be seen in a boom in such industries as private tutoring and plastic surgery.
For the man called The People's Pope, the choice makes sense.
He has eschewed the bullet proof popemobiles that his predecessors used on foreign trips and urged priests around the world to travel in low-key cars.
Inside the Vatican City, the pope prefers a blue Ford Focus, or when he's out in St. Peter's Square, a white open-topped vehicle
that allows him to literally reach out and touch the masses.
South Korean media widely reported that the pope requested the smallest South Korean car during his visit.
The Soul is Kia's second smallest model and reportedly provides more leg room than other compact cars.
Get the latest headlines www.telegraph.c...
Subscribe to The Telegraph www.youtube.com...
Like us on Facebook / telegraph.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter / telegraph
Follow us on Google+ plus.google.co...
Telegraph.co.uk and / telegraphtv are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.