Town Meeting, Communication Channel for Expats
- SMG turns to foreigners to make Seoul a foreigner-friendly city


Foreign travelers as well as expats staying here for a long period of time in a non-English speaking city like Seoul most often experience such inconveniences as language barriers and a lack of information on traffic flows and medical care. For policymakers of the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), a top agenda item is to make the bustling national capital a foreigner-friendly place.
The 5th Town Meeting, held at City Hall on December 3 attracted about 150 foreigners, including business leaders and ranking embassy staff members. These meetings have served as a better communication channel between Seoul City policymakers and foreigners staying here.
SMG seems to be proactive and shows a willingness to attentively listen to the voices of foreign visitors. Following up on the suggestions discussed during the previous Town Meeting held last year, Seoul has put into practice a few steps designed to provide useful information and improved emergency medical services to foreigners. Take for instance, the 24-hour English medical referral service (MRS) that is available for foreign residents and visitors around the clock all year around. Foreigners can obtain medical services or receive advice by dialing 010-4769-8212 or 010-8750-8212.
As part of its efforts to provide more useful information to foreigners, the municipal government has begun broadcasting the country's first English radio programs through Traffic Broadcasting System (TBS). The English programs being broadcast eight times per day include "Hi! Seoul," "I Love Seoul," and hourly traffic updates. The Hi! Seoul program offers news about local culture and tourist events at 9:05 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, while the I Love Seoul program covers news from various foreign communities.
Language barriers may be one of the complaints and grievances foreigners encounter during their daily life or trips here. The Seoul English Village is the brainchild of SMG's bid to help Koreans assimilate English. The village where visitors are allowed to speak only in English has already not only caused a sensation among Korean people, particularly school age children, but also has become the subject of its coverage by foreign media outlets.
During the fifth Town Meeting, the city government said Seoul Help Center for Foreigners (SHC) would provide visa services starting next January in the interest of foreigners. Such services as D-8 visa renewals and dependent families F-3 visas, extensions, and alterations will be offered.
Seoul Vice Mayor Won Sei-hoon said in his opening speech, "Such things as the 24-hour English medical referral system and English traffic radio programs were the topics discussed during the previous Town Meeting." He also expressed thanks and hopes to further active discussions. Ms. Joan Baron, the first chairperson of the Foreign Investor Advisory Council, echoed the vice mayor's view, saying that she wanted to discuss issues in an opened-minded manner.
City policymakers explained the recently changed bus transportation system of Seoul, Korea's waste disposal system and medical delivery system.
The participants of the 5th Town Meeting spoke most about transportation problems, including traffic signal violations, a lack of information on the changed transportation system. Rene Francisco Umana, Ambassador of Honduras, said, "Many people don't observe red lights, and Seoul is one of the cities where it is allowed."
Frans Hampsink, president of EUCCK, who has lived here for seven years, said he once experienced of being threatened by a careless bus driver violating traffic signals. Foreigners are facing difficulties due do a lack of information on the recently changed transportation system, he added.
He and other speakers shared the view that professional drivers, including bus drivers, are given training programs to make sure they abide by traffic signals. "This is more an issue of traffic culture than of systems," Choi Young, director-general of industry for SMG said. "We will talk to the police and see if we can tackle the issue."
Heikki Ranta, president of Hiabhana Ltd., stressed the necessity for the utilization of underground space in Seoul's downtown and around subway transfer stations, adding that he find no parking spaces when he was driving car on the streets in downtown Seoul.
Frans Hampsink, ECCK president, said that he thought
Seoul should start thinking about giving residency cards for foreigners like they do in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, and the expats living here should not have to go renew visas every year.
Garbage treatment is one of the participants' discussions with keen concern. Some speakers said they were sometime mistaken for discarding garbage illegally even if they put them in a bag outside. They shared the view that the time and days of collecting garbage would be notified for their conveniences.
Babike Ali Khalifa, Sudanese ambassador, said, "In the Foreign Investment Advisory Committee meeting in November 2002, there was a suggestion to have all monthly bills to embassies and foreign company personnel be in dual languages, English and Korean. It has not been implemented yet." nw