Communication Beyond Language in South Korea

Location:
Seogwipo, Jejudo, South Korea
Latitude/Longitude:
33.254120500000, 126.560076000000
Journal Entry:

This past week I spent six days visiting South Korea's lovely Jeju Island, or Jejudo! During my trip, I overcame lots of obstacles in learning how to talk to others and get around the island.

While I had done some research before my trip and understood Jejudo would have less English than Hong Kong, I did not really grasp just how little there would be until I landed in Incheon, South Korea. My flight stopped in the capital of the country instead of Jeju International Airport, so I got to experience the main island of Korea for a couple hours. While I had no problem navigating to get to Seoul Gimpo Airport, where my flight for Jejudo would take off, I had my first real issue communicating with people while trying to order from a restaurant.

I had been traveling on and off on my flight to Seoul for some eight hours at that point and was very groggy. When I saw a Dunkin’ Donuts in the airport terminal, I was ecstatic and knew where I was grabbing breakfast. The menu was much different than it usually is back in the United States, however. There were lots of fruity smoothies and milkshakes, with no iced coffee to be found. I settled on a cold mango smoothie and approached the counter, when I realized the cashier could barely understand me.

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