The Running of the... Koreans?

Since coming to Asia, I’ve adapted to life as a functioning illiterate quite well. Phrasebooks, picture dictionaries and a big smile have become a regular part of my interactions with people. If a restaurant has a menu with pictures, it’s like striking gold. If a bank clerk even says ‘Hello’ to me in English, I immediately like them more than the rest.

While Korea certainly has more English in every day life than China did, there are also many more rules regarding formal social behavior here. From bowing to elders to pouring drinks using two hands, I’m constantly watching everyone around me to know just what exactly I should be doing. And so, when attempting to make it on the last train home last night, my fate was completely in the hands of the other passengers.

After stepping off the train at the interchange station, there was a blaring announcement over the loudspeaker. I thought I understood it. I thought it said that the train going to Madeul Station (the station before my stop) was coming. In retrospect, I have no idea what the announcement actually said. However, I sensed urgency in the announcement because it acted like a start gun for the 100 meter Olympic sprint. In something akin to the running of the bulls, everyone who had been on the train went charging down the stairs, dashing along the corridor of the line-change and plunging down another set of stairs to the train platform.

Since I could hear the rumblings of a train on the other line, I immediately followed pursuit.

I’ve also become quite good at running for trains and navigating through large masses of people since living here. I zigged when everyone else zagged and made it down the second staircase in record time. When I reached the train platform, I found a few sheepish looking runners and… no train…

It seemed that the announcement was for the train heading in the opposite direction.