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| Motorway service station || hyu gye so|-| Gas station || ju -yu -so
|-
| Where are you going? || Odi ga?
no edit summary
|language = [[Korean]]
|capital = [[Seoul]]
|pop = 4950,044062,790000 (2009 est.)
|currency = International symbol ₩, pronounced Won (KRW)
|hitch = ?
}}
'''South Korea''' is a country in East [[Asia]].
It only has borders a land border with [[North Korea]], but travel there is restricted. There are ferry services from Pusan to [[Japan]], and from [[Seoul]] to [[China]].
Koreans are generally friendly, honest , and generous people who often drive big cars which are usually empty. Hitch hiking is easy here for foreigners if you are reasonably well dressed and clean shaven. I found I generally waited 15 minutes or less. The motorway service stations (hyu -gye -so) are easy to get lifts from, they often have tourist information centres with free road maps, free internet access and excellent cheap food. Tollgates are also good places to hitch. Technically you shouldn't stand on the motorway side of a tollgate, but cars often pull up here anyway, and the tollgate staff rarely object to you standing on the motorway side of the tollgate. Sometimes tollgate staff may even help you by asking drivers their destination, and asking them to give you lifts if they are going your way!
Write hitchiking signs in Hangul (Korean alphabet) ; place names on road signs are generally in Hangul and English, so you can copy the Hangul from road signs. A map in Hangul is useful, and one in English if you can't read Korean.
Korean drivers may try to take you to bus or train stations (they mean well). Also many of them are completely incapable of reading paper maps, relying instead on satellite navigation.
== Language ==
Few Koreans speak good a lot of English. Many may understand some very basic words. The Korean language is heavily steeped in formality and politeness. When speaking Korean, it is generally best to end every sentence with -yo. This is the 'polite' level of speaking. If you don't, you may be forgiven as an unknowing foreigner, but a little politeness goes a long way!
=== Some important phrases ===
{|
|-
| Hello || Anyong An-nyong haseyo= Be healthy/peaceful|-| Good bye! || An-nyong-hi ka-seyo! (used if the person you are addressing is leaving) = Go in health/peace| Good bye! || An-nyong-hi gyeh-seyo! (if the person you are addressing is staying somewhere) = Stay in health/peace|-| Thank you || Kamsa hamnida/Gomup sumnida| -- note: this uses the formal -mnida ending, so don't add -yo.
|-
| Thank Where are you going? || Gamsa hamnida/komup samnidaOdi ga-yo? (lit. where go?|-)| Yes || Ne|-| No || Ani-o|-| here || Yogi-eh-yo (lit. here-at (polite ending)) (use this if you're pointing at a map...
|-
| Please || juseyo
| -- used with verbs, eg. '...-eh ga-juseyo' = take me to ..., please (lit. ...-at go please)
| or 'Mohm-chu juseyo' = stop please
|-
| here Motorway service station || yogihyu-gye-so
|-
|-
| Interchange || IC pronounced "ee shee", most Koreans seem to understand the word "tollgate"
|}
=== Hitchhiking for female===
If You you are a girl, You you should be careful with hitchihiking hitchiking in South Korea. People can find You as may think you are a prostitueRussian prostitute. Probably You you will have to explain them why actually you are standing on the gate to highway. Because of the shortage of knowledge of english language English speakers, it can may be extremely hard for Youyou to do this.
== Border Crossing ==
The border to [[North Korea]] is closed.
The border crossing to [[Japan]] is quite easy, as all the border service people speak English.
== Cities ==
