In one of my very early posts I wrote about Korea's address system which follows the Japanese structure. Instead of having street names and logically ascending building numbers along them, Seoul is divided into the bigger regions (called Gu) and the smaller districts (called Dong). The numbers that are assigned to a specific address are known to the post office, but not to someone in the street looking for a certain building.In our first days in Korea, as most foreigners, we were not aware of that system. When my hubby hopped on to a taxi to drive him to his office the first time, he gave the driver his business card with the intention that he takes him to the address printed on it. Little did he know when the driver picked up his cell phone half-way who he was going to call.
Suddenly, my hubby's cell rang. He picked it up - and guess what - had the driver on the line!"Why are you calling me?" he asked, astonished, and the driver said something in Korean my hubby interpreted as: "Why the heck did you give me your cell phone number?"
So to all the foreigners who are new to Seoul: If you hand a business card with an address and phone number on it to the driver, what he will do is to drive to that district and then call the number on the card to get directions to the right building. The address system in Seoul doesn't leave any other options open.
Another good way is to mention a landmark building or a subway station near the place you want to go and then direct the taxi driver from there. But that only works if you know from the beginning where the place is.
And a last useful hint: If you are looking for a place in Seoul on the internet, you will almost always find a map and directions how to go there.
