Hopefully you are having a good week! Today, I wanted to blog about traveling to Seoul without a tour guide. I was super worried about not being able to communicate. But I was really surprised at the English level in Seoul. You can get around pretty well with broken English and pointing. Also, a lot of the signage will have both Korean and English and if you are hitting those touristy places, there will be tourist information centers. Some areas will have walking tourists guides (these are people you can ask questions about your location and places to go and how to get there). They will be wearing a red vest or jacket so they are easy to spot!
More information here: Tourist Center
With all of that being said, I think it is a good idea to learn the basics of the language before you go there. For example, ordering food at a Korean restaurant will be a bit difficult if the menu is only in Korean. It will also help you read maps and store names. Practicing numbers will also help you get around in the marketplace because saying: "how much is this?" in Korean without knowing what they are saying back will be pretty useless. Not to mention it will help you watch your k-drama's without having to stare at the screen for every word. So, don't be afraid of traveling to new places where you don't know the language. Being polite, patient and smiling will get you a long!
More information here: Tourist Center
With all of that being said, I think it is a good idea to learn the basics of the language before you go there. For example, ordering food at a Korean restaurant will be a bit difficult if the menu is only in Korean. It will also help you read maps and store names. Practicing numbers will also help you get around in the marketplace because saying: "how much is this?" in Korean without knowing what they are saying back will be pretty useless. Not to mention it will help you watch your k-drama's without having to stare at the screen for every word. So, don't be afraid of traveling to new places where you don't know the language. Being polite, patient and smiling will get you a long!
Finding a class:
I was able and lucky enough to find an affordable Korean Language class in my area. If you just search "Korean Language Class" + " your city name". I am sure you will find something. Let me know if you are interested in which class I took, I can send you a link!
Happy Travels!
Kieu
If you haven't checked out my goodies haul video, you can watch it here:
