Seoul Metropolitan Government to Transform Yeouido into a Global Financial Hub by English Integration

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced on Aug 21 that it has begun the process of making Yeouido, Seoul's finance and investment banking district, more English-friendly in order to transform it into a global financial hub.

"In the long run, we are considering making English the official language of Yeouido in order to attract foreign investment," said SMG official Kim Guk-jin.

"However, this cannot be accomplished in the short term, so our immediate focus is on improving living conditions for foreign employees of financial firms in Yeouido."

The first step was the installation of English signs. In Yeouido, nine bilingual signs were renovated, with the emphasis shifting from Korean to English, and four new English signs were installed.

Later in August, the SMG will also distribute English contracts to local real estate agencies and English medical questionnaires to Yeouido hospitals. The SMG will provide tablets with English menus to restaurants beginning in September.

"We discovered that even in relatively large restaurants with tables for five or more people, English menus were not available." We also noticed a lack of English services in places like real estate agencies and hospitals, which was inconvenient," the official said.

Beginning in October, the SMG will begin making English announcements on all buses that stop in Yeouido. Commercial banks' English-language counters will also be expanded.