How many Koreans does it take to help me find my guesthouse? Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? At least 5 is the correct answer. The man who worked at the airport that made sure I got on the correct bus. The woman sitting in front of me, on the bus, that somehow knew what my stop was and informed me that it was time to get off the bus. This was very helpful because although I thought I was paying close attention I really had no idea it was time to get off the bus. The bus driver who pointed me toward the correct street once I got off the bus. The shop owner who saw me studying my directions and somehow knew I had passed my destination was able to find me my 5th helpful person a girl who knew the area, spoke English and took the time to walk me to my destination, which wasn’t too far away as it turns out. That was 5 helpful people in under 1.5 hours which I found amazing.
Why all the difficulty you might ask? Well, addresses aren’t used in the Western sense. There are neighborhoods and in each neighborhood the buildings are numbered but they are numbered in the order they were built so building number 30 could be between building numbers 9 and 302. Are you confused yet? So, everyone gives directions based on what is nearby. Easy enough except Seoul is a big city that is very beautiful and visually stimulating. There are many distractions which makes turning left at the 7-11 harder than you might think because there is also a Starbucks, 4 restaurants, a bakery, and a delivery truck parked out front.
Once you come to terms with this system and write down your directions very carefully, give yourself some extra time to get where you are going and enjoy the adventure.
Wanderer's Lust 