Seoul opens its arms to foreigners

A Belgian native living in southern Seoul’s Seocho District recently wanted cable TV to be installed at home, but didn't have the first clue how to go about getting it. As a newcomer here, Isabelle Chenqui’s Korean was also rudimentary.

Unsure of where to turn, she visited the nearby Global Village Center in Seorae Village on the recommendation of a friend. The center staff called a cable TV company, got all the necessary details such as contract term and prices and helped her get connected.

This is just one example of a number of free helpful services that are available these days to foreigners living in Korea.

There are six Global Village Centers around Seoul, including the Seoul Global Center, which is the city's largest. As part of efforts to make the capital a foreigner-friendly city, the local government established the help centers this year in areas with high numbers of foreigners.

The Seoul Global Center provides help on daily living, business advice and more. Provided by the center

The centers provide a range of services, from business advice to information about daily living and cultural exchanges, as well as support for migrant workers.

The centers can also help with administrative services involving confusing paperwork such as foreigner registration and local tax payments. They also provide useful information about facilities, employment and health care.

“We are trying our best to help foreigners adjust to the new environment in Seoul,” said Lim Hyeon-ok, who works at the Seorae Village center.

“We look forward to all visits.”

The staff also provide information on electricity, gas, water, waste disposal, safety, security, emergency clinics, pharmacies, restaurants, traffic, job seeking and employment, medical counseling, investment and visas.

Books, newspapers and magazines are available. The centers also provide Korean language classes.

City officials plan to open more such help centers around Seoul.

Other foreign-language services such as the 120 Dasan Call Center, a city-run one-stop call center, are also available.

If you are looking for a hospital, the nearest subway station or the latest tourist attraction in Seoul, dial 120 ( or 02 120 from a cell phone or a land line outside of Seoul) and then press “9” for foreign language services.

Operators who are in fluent in English, Japanese, and Chinese have been offering general information to international residents since September 2007.

The 120 line provides information about tourist attractions, restaurants, transportation, international schools, legal consulting and other daily living issues in Seoul.

The line is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Before Babel Brigade, commonly known as bbb, is a voluntary network that provides free interpreting services to people.

Established in 2002 to celebrate the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the voluntary group provides translation services in 17 languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Bahasa Malaysian.

Anyone who has problems communicating with Koreans can call 1588-5644 (no area code is necessary) and then press the number assigned to each language.

The caller will be automatically connected to a bbb volunteer interpreters.

The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you don't have a cell phone, just show a bbb card to any Korean, so that they can help you with their phone.

These bbb cards are available at airports, subway stations and tourist information centers.

By Park Sang-woo Staff Reporter [spark@joongang.co.kr]