Special stationmasters make metro ride easier for foreigners

A stationmaster from the Philippines checks an emergency phone booth at City Hall subway station on Monday. / Courtesy of Seoul Metro

By Hong Dam-young

Foreign stationmasters have stepped up to help other foreigners riding Seoul subway trains.

Seoul Metro, the operator of subway lines No. 1 through 4, said Tuesday that five foreign residents in Korea -- from the Philippines, Russia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Thailand -- worked as one-day stationmasters on Oct. 24 to provide better services to the rising number of foreign passengers.

The stationmasters learned about facilities and safety systems within stations to share with the foreign passengers. They patrolled stations particularly frequented by foreign passengers, including City Hall station on line 1, Ewha Womans University station on line 2, Sinsa station and Gyeongbokgung station on line 3, and Dongdaemun station on line 4.

The students learned how to use ticket machines and other facilities, as well as the location of emergency devices within the stations, such as extinguishers, gas masks and phone booths.

Five foreign reporters from the Seoul Global Center joined the rookie stationmasters to record their experiences. The information will be used in eight languages in newsletters and shared on the Facebook pages of Seoul Metro and the Seoul Global Center.

The information includes difficulties foreigners face at metro stations, such as how to buy one-way metro tickets or to charge T-money cards.

“We hope foreigners from various countries can use metro services more easily and safely with the project,” a Seoul Metro official said.

The one-day stationmasters are consultants for foreign residents at the Seoul Global Center, a support center for Seoul-based foreign citizens, from Seoul City Hall.