9 Korean phrases for the subway and the bus
Seoul's subway is one of the easiest in the world to use without a word of Korean: the signs are bilingual, the apps are excellent and the announcements run in four languages. The bus is where the Korean starts to matter, and so does the moment the app and the platform disagree.
These nine lines are polite 요 speech, suitable for the stranger beside you, the station staff and the bus driver. Most are questions, because on transport you mainly need to ask and then listen for one word in the answer.
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이거 명동 가요?
igeo myeongdong gayo?
Does this go to Myeongdong?
Literally: This, Myeongdong go?
The whole question is three words; swap the place name. Point at the bus or the platform as you ask. The answer is 네 or 아니요, often with a hand pointing somewhere else.
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어디서 갈아타요?
eodiseo garatayo?
Where do I transfer?
갈아타다 is the transfer verb; you hear it in the announcement as 갈아타실 수 있습니다. The answer will be a station name plus a line number, 호선: 2호선으로 갈아타세요.
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몇 정거장 남았어요?
myeot jeonggeojang namasseoyo?
How many stops are left?
정거장 counts stops on both bus and subway. Koreans ask strangers this on buses without ceremony, so you can too.
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여기서 내려요?
yeogiseo naeryeoyo?
Do I get off here?
내리다 is to get off. On a bus, 내려요 said loudly toward the driver as the doors close is also how you stop them closing; it is polite register, just urgent.
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잠시만요.
jamsimanyo.
Excuse me (let me through).
Literally: Just a moment.
This, not 실례합니다, is what Koreans say pushing through a crowded carriage. At the doors, 내릴게요 (I am getting off) does the same job, and people move.
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교통카드 어디서 충전해요?
gyotongkadeu eodiseo chungjeonhaeyo?
Where do I top up my transit card?
충전 is to charge, the same word as a phone battery. There are machines in every station; convenience stores do it too, usually for cash.
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몇 번 출구예요?
myeot beon chulguyeyo?
Which exit is it?
Seoul stations have numbered exits and locals give directions by them: 3번 출구로 나오세요 (come out of exit 3). Ask this and you get a number, which is far more useful than left or right.
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막차 몇 시예요?
makcha myeot siyeyo?
What time is the last train?
막차 is the last train or bus; 첫차 the first. The subway stops around midnight, earlier than many visitors expect, which is why this question comes up at eleven.
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반대편으로 가세요.
bandaepyeoneuro gaseyo.
Go to the other side.
A line to recognise rather than say: it means you are on the wrong platform. 반대편 is the opposite side. In some stations crossing means tapping out and in again; tell the staff 잘못 탔어요 (I took the wrong one) and they will open the gate.
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A pattern that helps: 타다 is to get on, 내리다 to get off, 갈아타다 to change. Nearly every transport sentence you hear or need is built from those three verbs and a station name.