Foreigners` take on state of English in Korea



On the occasion of its 55th anniversary on Aug. 15, The Korea Herald is offering a series of articles looking into ways to make Korea a more comfortable and friendly place for expatriates to live. The following is the sixth installment. - Ed.

Korean people`s English communication skills are relatively good, but they fear losing face by speaking the language in public, said Nathan Rice from the United States, who has taught English here for about a year.
"(In terms of communication) I don`t have much trouble getting around in the city (Seoul), but Koreans have too much shame about speaking English."
Due in part to the nation`s long-venerated Confucian values, appearing calm and not talking much is widely seen as a virtue here, though foreigners may sometimes see this as cold or even rude.
"As soon as I asked some questions, they moved back away, smiling with their hands covering their mouths - something I thought of as impolite at first," said a Spanish man, who asked not to be named. He arrived in Korea just a week ago to start a new job. "But now I realize that it`s a cultural thing."
Still, many people from abroad see Seoul, by and large, as a convenient place, in terms of communication.
"The subway is very convenient, as it connects every tourist attraction and the key landmarks in the city with English maps and the spoken announcement on the trains," says Kelly TomHon, who arrived from America about two weeks ago with her husband, who will work at a local firm for several years.
"Some subways have digital readouts which I find very handy when I cannot hear the announcement because of all the noise with many passengers on board. I wish that every train had the readout system in place."
David Johan, a French government official who is visiting here, said that displaying on the subway map where north and south are would be helpful in providing a clearer sense of where the trains are headed.



Partially owing to the capital`s having hosted such international events as the Olympics in 1988 and, with Japan, the World Cup in 2002, basic explanations in the international language on traffic signs and public transportation routes have improved. But taking buses still remains a challenge to foreigners, and some feel anxiety about traveling this way.
"Whenever we`re on the bus, my family has to pay close attention to what the announcement says. Also, the announcement is drowned-out," TomHon said.
The bus routes and how to use other means of public transportation are explained in English on the government`s tourism website (www.visitkorea.or.kr). Foreigners can also call 1330 to get such information in English, Chinese and Japanese. But such information is not well publicized, many non-Koreans say.
Koreans have been extremely enthusiastic about English because it is widely seen as vital to upward mobility. Also, English has been one of the critical factors in college entrance, thus the ubiquity of cram schools.
Private education focusing on English is estimated to cost 15 trillion won ($14.4 billion) each year, which means that individual families are shelling out no small amount of money so their daughters and sons can learn the language. The Lee Myung-bak administration, which sees English as crucial to national competitiveness, is set to implement various policies such as hiring tens of thousands of so-called Teaching-English-In-English instructors over the next five years.
On another front for foreigners, the difficulty in ordering food remains significant.
"I wish restaurants here would explain the food they serve with an English text. I ordered what I thought would be some beef stew, but it turned out to be a salty and spicy fish soup," said a foreign resident who asked not to be named.
Many also complained that even when restaurants offer English translations, they are not clear enough to help these people guess what kind of food will be served. Many restaurants add mere direct translations of their menu, further confusing foreign customers.
For instance, "sundubu," which is a spicy red stew with tofu, soybean paste, clams and summer squash, is translated as a soft tofu stew, which does not give foreigners an inkling of its spiciness.
Some foreigners have also complained about the "boring" descriptions on signs in front of historic sites. In many cases, the explanations just give information about the appearance of the place, such as how tall and old the building is, which strikes many as "too obvious."
On the government`s website about Gyeongbok Palace (www.royalpalace.go.kr), the central compound of the Joseon Dynasty, Gwanghwamun is described as having a double-roofed pavilion over three arched openings set in a high stone foundation, which hardly needs to be pointed out to people standing right in front of the structure. Many who have come here from other countries would appreciate more interesting stories about these historic sites.

By Song Sang-ho

(sshluck@heraldm.com)


2008.08.19