Urgent—and completely out of the blue.
My supervisor’s luggage had been lost by the airline in Europe, so he called around noon on Sunday to ask if I could go to South Korea in his place to set up for the exhibition.
Of course I could. An overseas business trip was exactly what I’d been hoping for…
By the time I got to the office the next day, my flight had already been booked. All that was left was to pack my bags and head off to South Korea. An assistant had actually gone ahead of me, and with directions from the client, she had made it to the hotel without any trouble.
All I had was a sheet of paper—a printout of the client’s email in simple English. And with that, I flew off to Korea.
People in Korea didn’t speak English as well as I’d imagined.
Korea and Taiwan had a visa-free arrangement. The customs officer simply asked what I was coming to Korea for, and after I showed the exhibition documents, I got through without a hitch and collected my luggage. But the things that would leave me feeling a little overwhelmed were only just beginning. My supervisor later told me, “You really are brave.” (Shrug.)
Because apart from the customs officers, who spoke English, everything from then on involved gestures.
Following the client’s email, I went to the ticket counter. I was a little surprised that even when I said numbers in English, the person behind the counter didn’t seem to understand. Or perhaps they did understand but were simply afraid of speaking English. The station attendant just kept waving their hands at me, but after looking at the email, they sold me a ticket anyway.
Then the driver couldn’t understand English either and just tried to shoo me off the bus.
As soon as I got on, I asked him, “GO PJ Hotel ?” He waved his hands frantically, telling me he wasn’t going there, while the station attendant kept urging me to get on. (Shrug.) So there I was, with everyone on the bus staring at me. Was I supposed to take it or not? I couldn’t get through to the assistant on the phone.
The place you’re going should be near Kukdo Hotel. This is the right bus. I’ll explain it to the driver for you.
Wow, I’d never felt so moved to hear Chinese before. A young woman who spoke both Korean and Chinese exchanged a few words with the driver, and just like that, I was on the bus. Dragging my luggage to the back, I quietly watched the Han River outside the window. WTF… Surely more people would speak English once I got downtown? After all, it was understandable that an older man might not speak much.
Seated right in the middle of the back row 
The Han River
When we reached the Kukdo Hotel stop, the young woman kindly let me know we had arrived. I got off and looked around, completely lost. Shit… Where on earth was PJ Hotel? The assistant’s phone was still ringing, but no one answered…
So I dragged my luggage along the street, asking for directions in English as I went…
The scary thing was that nobody seemed willing to answer me. I stood downstairs from an English language school and asked whoever I could. Everyone just shook their heads, waved their hands and went on their way. Was I going to have to sleep on the street tonight? With no other option, I kept walking around, sticking to the main road so I wouldn’t get lost. After walking for over ten minutes, I spotted a police station.
Holding my passport, I pointed to my Visa and the email: Hello Sir, could you please tell me how to get PJ Hotel ?
Go Straight and Turn Left, PJ Hotel
Amazing… Just like that, I made it to the hotel… After I checked in, I finally got through to the assistant. She had been taking a bath… Full of apologies, she brought me the leftovers from dinner as a late-night snack. (Shrug.)
Leftover spicy stir-fried rice cakes 
Leftover seafood pancake 
PJ Hotel’s stationery set 
PJ Hotel’s laundry bag
Korea, here’s to getting to know you.
Postscript: I later realized that by the time I reached the police station, I had already walked too far. PJ Hotel was very close to Kukdo Hotel…
