Language exchange gathering in vogue

Participants chat at a language-exchange meeting at Citti Caffe in Gangnam, Seoul on March 5. (Photo : Korea Times)

As one walks into a language-exchange meeting at a hip coffee shop in southern Seoul, the youthful energy of people talking resembles the ambience of a high school classroom without a teacher.

Language-exchange gatherings are springing up across the country, bringing Koreans and foreigners together in multicultural friendships.

Language enthusiasts meet weekly and engage in lively conversations after work or on weekends. With no particular programs, individuals freely choose their seats and topics of conversation.

Koreans come to practice English, while foreigners seek out friendships.  

“I come here not to let my English tongue get rusty. Many companies nowadays require TOEIC and TOEFL scores, but studying them doesn’t improve communication skills. Having live conversations does,” said James Park, 26, an account executive at FedEx.

Park was one of the participants in a Language Exchange Cafe gathering in Gangnam in southern Seoul.  

For the novices, the meeting is a stepping stone for catching up with able speakers. It is also an entrance to the outside world inside Korea.

“I feel like finding a needle in a haystack when I come here. There are many good speakers alongside beginners with no overseas experience. If I can speak a single word, it’s better than nothing,” said Kim Sun-hye, 33, who plans to go to the Philippines to learn English.

Kim Hye-min, 20, who is going on an internship program in Sydney, said the cross-cultural experience allowed her to start friendships in addition to shaping up her “Konglish.”

As opposed to the small-sized meetings in Daegu, her hometown, the meetings in Seoul are larger and more exciting, with people from diverse backgrounds, she said.

Those working in an international environment value networking through the language exchange.

Kwak Hye-rim, 27, an assistant manager at SK hynix, is a regular participant in another gathering, LanguageCast

“In my everyday work at my company, I use English constantly, for emails and presentations. We even have our own English study group with the help of American colleagues. I feel there’s always something to learn from actively speaking a language,” Kim said.

Participants from other countries value friendships over the language exchange. 

“I come here for a knowledge exchange. Language is just a medium for sharing ideas. I learn social skills through networking with different people,” said Muhamad Khalid, 25, an engineer at Samsung C&T.

Although the barrier between Koreans and foreigners is lower at the meeting, it’s still not ideal for deep relationships, he said.

For the foreigners in Korea, there is a “colored glass ceiling” both at work and play.

Brendan Cartwright, 19, from England said, “Koreans seem very cold on the street, always looking down on their cell phones and avoiding eye contacts. Foreigners might feel strange or alienated at first.”

Based on his experience with Korean colleagues in London, Cartwright said getting to know Koreans closely requires a “formal setting” rather than a “random meeting.” The meeting is a doorway to otherwise “unfriendly” Korea for newcomers like Cartwright.

Despite being a lively venue for socializing, several foreigners pointed out difficulties practicing Korean language. They said everyone is too focused on English.

Beyond friendship 

“You never know who you’re going to meet at LanguageCast,” said Stephen Redeker, an event host and English teacher from New Jersey.

He said the event opens up opportunities for dating and even marriage, as several married couples were born from the venue.

Sun Hyun-woo, the other event host, met his wife while they organized the event together.

But for the Korean women who make up the majority of the participants, international dating is uncharted territory.

“My friends are shy about meeting foreigners. Some of them are dating foreign guys but their relationships seem shallow and short-term. I am conservative about it,” said Kim Hye-min.

However, most of the Korean men interviewed were open to dating those from other countries. They said although dating is not the main reason for their participation, they are open-minded about the possibility.

For more information, search Language Exchange Cafe or LanguageCast at www.meetup.com or Facebook. By Joel Lee, The Korea Times