‘Absurd how Korea treats its people’: English signage fad alienates older Koreans

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‘Absurd how Korea treats its people’: English signage fad alienates older Koreans

Published: 30 Sep. 2023, 07:00

Floor guide signs at a building in Apgujeong, southern Seoul, written only in English. [KIM MIN-SANG]

Stroll into a populous street or a shopping complex in Seoul, and chances are there will be a lost elderly person eagerly looking for a sign written in hangul, the Korean alphabet.

Such chance increases as closer as one gets to the "hip" areas of the city where replacing hangul with English has become chic.

“May I ask you for directions?” a 69-year-old surnamed Bang asked the JoongAng Ilbo reporter in a lobby of a building in Apgujeong, southern Seoul, recently. He was looking for a restaurant on the basement floor of the building.

Bang said he was a Gangnam District native who had lived in the area for more than 40 years but was completely lost that day because there were no signs written in hangul.

“Hangul is even found in public institutions abroad — it’s absurd how Korea treats its people,” said the 69-year-old.

He claimed his acquaintances, including professors and corporate executives, sometimes have a hard time ordering food because the menu is all written in English.

Most signs in the building were written in English when the JoongAng Ilbo revisited the venue and browsed through the area on Sept. 18.

A floor guide sign for the first basement floor was written “Retail,” presumably indicating a retail shopping area on the floor. Next to “Retail” was a symbol of a subway train, hinting the basement floor connects to Apgujeong Station in subway line No. 3.

The sign also read “Drinking & Dining,” “Event Hall,” “Fitness” and “Parking.”

Signboards written in English are installed at a building in Seodaemun Distrcit, western Seoul, on Oct. 9, 2022. [YONHAP]

Outside the building was a different sign showing directions to restaurants “Buvette” and “Texas de Brazil,” only in English.

Another restaurant nearby had its main menu written in English. The only obvious hangul notice said, “Use a spoon and fork instead of chopsticks to enjoy the food with proper formality.”

The hangul phase out presumably began in the “hip” areas of Seoul, such as Gangnam District in southern Seoul, Seongsu-dong in eastern Seoul and Yeonnam-dong in western Seoul, where cafes and restaurants popular on social media line the streets.

“Indiscriminate English signs may have sprouted from a misleading perception that sees foreign languages are ‘more in style’ than hangul,” said Kwon Jae-il, president of the Korean Language Society.

“Signs on first and second floors of a building should be in hangul, even if it requires a change in related laws.”

The current law on outdoor advertisements requires signs bigger than 5 square meters (53.8 square feet) or located above the third floor to be written in hangul. An enforcement fine under 5 million won ($3,700) is imposed on businesses.

A popular U.K.-themed cafe near the Apgujeong building wrote “Open 7 days” for its business hours and “Hiring” for employee recruiting. The job requirements on the notice were all in English.

Out of eight other cafes in the same alley, seven put up English-only signs. Of the 62 retail shops located on the ground floor around the vicinity, only 18 stores had hangul-only signs.

“Some restaurants [in Korea] replace ‘mixed rice’ with ‘pilaf,’ a more commonly-used term in Europe,” said Seo Hyun-jung, senior researcher at Sejong Institute of Korean Language and Culture.

Misugaru, or traditional Korean beverage made of powdered grains, is written as ″MSGR″ on the menu at a cafe in Bundang, Gyeonggi. [KIM MIN-SANG]

At another popular cafe in Bundang, Gyeonggi, misugaru — a traditional Korean beverage made from multiple powdered grains — was listed merely as “MSGR” on the menu, with no hangul details provided.

The coffee shop gave out number cards with a “Please wait” English notice to customers who made orders.

“It seems like a silent gesture to fend off people who cannot read English well — similar to the ‘No Kids’ zone,” said a 43-year-old customer.

The staff at the cafe said they wrote notices in English because many foreigners lived in the vicinity and cramming both English and hangul in a limited space may confuse customers.

“Please consider it as a marketing move that pinpoints target customers and differentiates us from other cafes,” they said.

But some argue forcing people to use hangul may harm individuality.

“Cafe owners are running their business with their own brand identity, focusing on a specific consumer group,” said a 38-year-old surnamed Choo. “Such originality needs to be respected.”

In July, a Korean language bill was drafted to have district governments advise businesses to properly use hangul at their establishments.

“The national and district governments shall recommend the operator of a public entertainment business such as a theater or restaurant to write notices and menus provided at the facility in hangul or write hangul on the side,” read the proposed amendment to the Korean Language Act.

The review of the bill by the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee began Sept. 20.

BY KIM MIN-SANG, SOHN DONG-JOO [[email protected]]