Addressing someone on the street you have never met and who is of ambiguous age?

Question

I was visiting Korea (강원도 춘천시) recently and needed to ask directions to a building on a college campus. (강원대학교 for those who are interested). I was on foot and I did not immediately see a campus map anywhere, so I decided to ask someone who was walking by where to find the building. As could be expected, most of the people on the college campus were in their early to mid-twenties. I (being in my early 30s) am likely older than most of them. However, there were a few individuals on campus for whom it was impossible to determine an exact age. The were dressed semi-formally and could have been a young professor. Maybe they were older than me, maybe they were younger. Because I did not know how to address these people of ambiguous age, I opted to just use wait for a person that was definitely younger than me and ask them where to go. However, this made me ponder on how I might address someone I did not know (and hence whose name I did not know) on the street if they looked to be roughly my same age. Using a term like "선생님" seems a bit too formal; using a term like "아저씨" feels a bit to demeaning. How can I address someone who looks to be around my age when I need to speak to them once on the street for information and will likely never know their name?

Answer 1

You worry about the title when you have to talk to a stranger.

From a Korean point of view, the title of '선생님' is a designation for pre-university kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school teachers. It is also used to call public officials, doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel.

There is a change in the title that people call depending on the generation.

These days, the younger generation is a little less polite than the previous generation.

So, nowadays, when strangers are called '선생님', middle-aged people in their 40s and over seem to call them '선생님' as a polite expression when dealing with strangers who are generally fathers age or older.

In addition, when dealing with customers for non-face-to-face phone calls or business, they often call the name'선생님'.

University campuses have '교수님' and '강사님' who teach students, so if you are acquainted, you can call the title of a job, but it is a bit difficult to call anyone ‘선생님’, ‘교수님’ or ‘강사님’.

This is because Korean university professors and lecturers may be sensitive to the titles '교수님' and '강사님'.

Men are usually drafted into the military after completing grades 1-2 and return to school two years later. Such people are called'return students', which can have a mature atmosphere for their age.

In addition, it is difficult to grasp who the students and professors are because there are cases where they become new students late after social life.

The titles '아저씨' or '아줌마' are usually terms for married people, usually people with children, but many people may feel reluctant to hear such terms. It has emerged as a socially negative image, and these days, there are cases of being single, even at a late age, or with no children, so it seems that they have become disliked by that title.

In conclusion, regardless of gender, in situations where you will talk to ordinary strangers of the same age or middle-aged on and off campus,

"저기요. 실례할게요. 뭐 좀 물어볼게요."

"저기 죄송한데, 뭐 좀 물어봐도 될까요?"

"저 잠깐만요. 실례할게요. 여기로 가려면 어떻게 해요?"

"저 잠시만요. 죄송한데, 길 좀 물어봐도 될까요?"

You can use sentences such as.

Of course, when you're talking to someone who's older about over 60s outside of campus, if you call '아주머니' or '어르신' instead of '아줌마' , '어르신' or '선생님' instead of '아저씨', they will see you as a polite and well-learned person.

Answer 2

Great question you asked!

Typically when I approach someone I am not sure of but have seen before or never seen before, I approach them by simply saying "Excuse me miss (or sir), I am needing directions to (place you're needing to go), I am not sure where it is located and I figured I would ask."

This is direct and respectful. Whether someone is young (typically in their teens) or adult, it is respectful and formal to say "excuse me" and "miss or sir". If you feel like you've met them or might know them from seeing them around, you can also say "Excuse me, I feel like I might have seen you somewhere, I have a bad memory so forgive me if I don't remember! I am needing directions to (place you need to go), could you please help direct me?"

If you need any more help, I'd love to answer more questions!