Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRANSLATION & COUNSELLING SERVICES
If you need interpretation help or information on practically any topic, any time of the day or night, you can call
either of the following:
»
Tourist Phone Number
1330 or
02-1330 from a mobile phone
1588 5644;
http://bbbkorea.org
»
BBB
Also very useful is the
Seoul Global Center
( ; 2075-4180;
http://global.seoul.go.kr
;
3rd fl, Korea Press
Centre, 124 Sejong-daero, Jung-gu; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri; Line 1 or 2 to City Hall, Exit 4) , a compre-
hensive support centre for foreign residents in Seoul; they have volunteers who speak a range of languages as
well as full-time staff who can assist on a range of issues. Language and culture classes are also held here.
Public Phones & Phonecards
With practically everyone having a mobile phone, it's increasingly rare to find public pay
phones; the best place to look are subway stations. Ones accepting coins (
₩
50 or
₩
100)
are even rarer. Telephone cards usually give you a 10% bonus in value and can be bought
at convenience stores. There are two types of cards, so if your card does not fit in one type
of pay phone, try a different looking one. The more squat pay phones accept the thin
cards. A few public phones accept credit cards. Local calls cost
₩
70 for three minutes.
Time
South Korea is nine hours ahead of GMT/UCT (London) and does not have daylight sav-
ing. When it is noon in Seoul, it's 7pm the previous day in San Francisco, 10pm the previ-
ous day in New York and 1pm the same day in Sydney.
Toilets
Seoul nowadays has plenty of clean, modern and well-signed
hwajangsil
(public toilets).
Virtually all toilets are free of charge, some are decorated with flowers and artwork, and a
few even have music. Toilet paper is usually outside the cubicles. As always, it's wise to
