Damnit.  We had done it again.  Swiped our subway pass at the wrong turnstile and gotten in line to get on the right train going the wrong way.  In our defense, when you live in a city that has a subway line with Jangsan at one end and Yangsan at the other, you can occasionally hear or see things the wrong way.  

We had just turned around to go back upstairs and swipe our bus passes for the right train when an older woman with curly white hair approached us and asked if we needed help finding our way.  Now, this happens pretty frequently in Busan (I imagine that as Westerners we stick out a little), but this woman was different.  She was offering to help us in English instead of just gesturing frantically and prattling on in rapid fire Korean.  We explained to her that we had just realized we had the right train but the wrong line and were headed upstairs to buy the right ticket so we could head home.  We explained to her that we had just moved to Busan and were still learning our way around.

We expected her to nod sympathetically and go on her way, but she didn’t.  Instead, she left us at the subway turnstiles, telling us to wait for her to return.  She then ran around the terminal until she found a subway attendant, explained to him our situation, and persuaded him to let us on the correct train for free.  We thanked both of them profusely and headed home.

So, I wrote that to say this.  We have concluded that Koreans are nice but not friendly.  They will not smile or say hello to you on the street.  They will not respect your spot in line anywhere.  They will push you out of the way if you are in their path on the sidewalk or in between them and the bus they are trying to get on or off.  However, if you look the least bit lost or confused, they will help you. Even if they speak no English.  And sometimes, in the case of the sweet lady in the subway, they will go out of their way to put you on the right path again. Cashiers will attempt to use English to convey prices.  Shopkeepers will make sure we hand them the right change and don’t overpay them for things.  People will move seats on the bus so that we can have two spots together.  Old women will stop us in the subway if they speak ANY English at all to make sure we are not lost.  

This is odd for us, we realized, because we have grown up in a country where everyone says hello to everyone on the street, but rarely does anyone go out of their way to help a stranger.  Would our subway experience have happened in New York or DC?  Would we have received that kind of help and hospitality even at home in the South?  We think it’s probably doubtful.

So, we are getting used to this curious Korean kindness, trying not to feel slighted when folks avert their eyes on the street, learning to be grateful for little old women who go out of their way to make sure the Westerners get home OK.   

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Busan, Korea