Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ethan Allen Hawley]

I'm really interested in knowing of your experiences - and observations thereof - when asking random Korean members of the public for directions. I'm talking about relatively simple questions where potential for miscommunication due to language is minimalised ie. asking about an obvious/ well known place, '...left or right...?'

Have you had positive experiences from all people you asked? Are there any groups within those people you have asked who tend to be more, or less, helpful than others?

(I had a discussion about this with a very close Kfriend recently. I have my own observations from more than four years experience here, and will share them later, but want to keep the question open and free from my views.)

[uberscheisse]

what i have found is that most people want to help, and will answer in korean and english.

what i have also found is that only about 75% of the people really know where your destination is. the rest don't want to lose face by saying "i don't know" and give you directions that don't work. it's cute.

[denistron]

I've had no problems. Most people will actually walk you there themselves.

[Qinella]

[VanIslander]

[RACETRAITOR]

They lead the way, they phone the place you're going, anything.

I've also had a few Koreans ask me for directions.

[oneofthesarahs]

I've had nothing but positive experiences. In fact, I've had people offer to help me find where I'm going without me even asking.

Just stand in front of a subway map for longer that 5 seconds, and I promise at least one person will offer to help you find your destination.

[eamo]

Some foreigner on here once said that a young Korean man jogged for over a mile in front of a slow moving taxi with a lost foreigner inside. To show the way!!

[Zolt]

Not much relation to this, but a japanese friend of mine, while visiting Paris, got asked directions to the local post office by someone on the street. She was completely shocked at that : "Can't they see I'm not french?"

That was near Paris 13e, where about half the population is Asian
It's gonna get them a lot of time to get used to the notion of a cosmopolitan society.

[Doogie]

I've had nothing but positive experiences. I find they actually enjoy helping you. I find one thing really funny, though. When I ask them how long it would take me to walk there, they always say,"Oh, too far to walk...bus, bus." When I ask how long, a lot of times they say 10 or 15 minutes to walk it. They always think that's way too far to walk. Anyway, just an amusing side note. As I said, they do go out of their way to help me.

[twilczynski]

[R-Seoul]

I had an adjosshi ask me in passable English where the nearest PC Bang was this morning.

I was honest enough to tell him I didn't know

[Zolt]

[Woland]

I've occasionally had people give me misleading directions because they wanted to hide the fact that they didn't know. I don't think theirintentions were bad, though. More often people have been very helpful, either with good directions or taking me to the place.

One time, though, I guy insisted on walking to a building. I think he knew the general area, but not specifically where it was. Well, we wound up more lost. Finally, he asked another guy, and it turned into a three man journey that finally got me where I was going. They were both nice, and it was fun.

All over the world, I've never had a bad experience with being lost and asking for help.

[Young FRANKenstein]

Never had a problem in any of the countries I've visited. People have always (seemed) happy to help me with directions, whether they were Korean, Japanese, Thai, Swiss, German, yes even the French.