You get in the back seat, close the door, and the driver looks up at the mirror and asks you something.
It's always the same question, and it's the easiest one to prepare for.
The exchange
어디로 가시나요? eo-di-ro ga-si-na-yo? "Where are you headed?"
You'll also hear 어디로 가세요? and 어디까지 가세요? These all mean the same thing.
Your answer is the place name plus one word:
명동으로 가주세요 myeong-dong-eu-ro ga-ju-se-yo "To Myeongdong, please"
가주세요 (ga-ju-se-yo) is "please go." Put any destination in front of it and you have a complete sentence.
If you're in a hurry:
조금 서둘러 주세요 jo-geum seo-dul-leo ju-se-yo "Could you hurry a little?"
Words to know
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ~로 가주세요 | -ro ga-ju-se-yo | Please go to ~ |
| 여기로 가주세요 | yeo-gi-ro ga-ju-se-yo | Please go here |
| 서둘러 주세요 | seo-dul-leo ju-se-yo | Please hurry |
| 세워주세요 | se-wo-ju-se-yo | Please stop |
| 약속 | yak-sok | Appointment, plans |
| 늦었어요 | neuj-eoss-eo-yo | I'm late |
When you can't pronounce the destination
This is the real problem for visitors, and the solution is one phrase:
여기로 가주세요 — "Please go here"
Say it while holding up your phone with the map or the address on screen. Drivers deal with this constantly and will usually take the phone, glance at it, and type it into the navigation themselves.
Korean addresses in English letters are hard to read for many drivers, so the Korean name on screen works better than a romanized one.
Small talk
Korean taxi drivers often chat. It's friendly, not nosy.
약속 있으세요? — "Do you have an appointment?" 어디서 오셨어요? — "Where are you from?" 처음 오셨어요? — "Is this your first time here?"
You can answer with a short phrase and a smile, or just 네 and leave it there. Neither is rude.
Getting out
여기서 세워주세요 — "Please stop here" 저기 앞에서 세워주세요 — "Please stop up there"
Say it a little before you arrive. Drivers can't stop just anywhere, so they may pull over slightly past your spot.
카드로 할게요 — "I'll pay by card"
Cards work in every licensed taxi. The reader is usually mounted between the front seats, and you tap it yourself. There's no tipping in Korea.
The doors are not automatic. Open and close them yourself.
Using an app instead
카카오 T (Kakao T) is what most people use. You set the destination in the app, so there's nothing to pronounce, and the fare and route are shown before you accept.
It's the simplest option if you have a Korean phone number or a working payment card registered. If not, hailing on the street still works fine — Seoul has plenty of taxis.
What to actually do
- Get in the back seat and close the door yourself
- When asked 어디로 가시나요?, say the place plus 가주세요
- If the name is hard to say, show your phone and say 여기로 가주세요
- Say 여기서 세워주세요 as you approach
- Tap your card at the reader, no tip
One pattern — [place] 가주세요 — covers every taxi ride you'll take.
Taxis, buses, and subways all run on a handful of repeatable phrases. K-PATTO teaches 300+ phrases like these through a webtoon story set in Seoul, with native audio on every line. The first ten episodes are free.