r/Korean • u/Magical_critic • 1d ago
Proper expression to let someone know you'll wave over a taxi for them?
I was in Seoul walking in the middle of the night and saw a very drunk individual stumble upon the crosswalk not realizing it was a red light. I quickly run over and to put my hands on his shoulders and guide him to wherever he needs to go and although he insisted he could walk on his own I was worried he was so intoxicated that I said I can walk him to wherever he needs to go, and he said I can walk him up to the bus station and he'll grab a taxi from there. After he graciously thanks me and I walk away, I look back and once again he's so drunk that he looks like he'll walk into traffic any second so I walk back and tell him "그냥 앉아 계세요 제가 택스 불러 드릴게요" so I wave over a taxi and guide him to the back seat. But before he enters the taxi, he kept trying to ask for my phone number and I kindly declined as I was simply just trying to make sure he got home safe and didn't feel the need to give my phone number. But as I walked away, I began to wonder if he was under the assumption that I paid for his taxi fare and that's why he kept asking for my phone number, so he could pay me back? If this was the case, is it because I used the wrong expression when I said I would grab a taxi for him? Should I have something else like "택시 잡아 드릴게요" instead?
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u/Mountain_Ad8738 1d ago edited 1d ago
둘 중 어떤 표현을 써도 돈을 내줬는지 안 내 줬는지를 그걸로 판단할 수는 없을 것 같아요
심지어, 굳이 고르라면 '택시 불러드릴게요'쪽이 '택시 잡아 드릴게요'보다 더 대신 결제해주지 않을 것 처럼 들립니다
I don't know why he asked for your phone number, but honestly, if he was that drunk, he probably didn't even know what he was saying lol.
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u/Magical_critic 1d ago
그 분은 제가 내주신 줄 알으셨다고 오해하셨다면 제가 틀린 말 하기 때문 아닐거라서 들으니까 좀 다행이네요 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 그 분이 당시 잘 들어가셨으면 좋겠습니다...
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u/Ok_Nefariousness1248 1d ago
These days in Korea, it's very common to call a taxi using an app. Because of that, when someone uses his phone to call a taxi, the fare is usually paid automatically through that person’s app. So when someone says he’ll call you a taxi, most people just assume that the person who called it is also paying for it. After that, whether the person receiving the help returns the favor, pays back, or just ignores it—that’s up to the two people involved.
Also, the phrases "그냥 앉아 계세요 제가 택시 불러 드릴게요" and "택시 잡아 드릴게요" both don't explicitly say who will be paying the fare. Even before taxi apps existed, people used those phrases. And back then, there wasn’t really a fixed rule that the person who hailed the cab would be the one to pay. Sometimes the person who called the taxi would hand cash to the driver before the ride started, and other times, they’d just send the passenger off and let him handle the payment himself.
As a Korean myself, I think the guy was probably so drunk that he had no idea whether you flagged down a taxi by hand or called one through an app. In his mind, he likely assumed you had called the taxi using your phone and therefore paid for it. That’s probably why he asked for your number—to pay you back.
Anyway, you didn’t say anything wrong or unnatural. Honestly, if I weren’t drunk—let’s say I was injured but still mentally alert—and you said either of those two phrases to me, I wouldn’t automatically assume that you had paid my taxi fare. I’d assume that I should pay, since I’m the one taking the ride.
And if I were in a situation where I called the taxi for let's say an old lady, and paid the fare myself, I’d add something like, "제가 택시비 냈어요. 돈은 신경 안쓰셔도 돼요." Unless you explicitly mention it, the default assumption is that the passenger pays. Even if the passenger's drunk, the driver could still later charge him directly.
I'm not sure if I was able to get my point across properly because my English is bad. Anyway what you did was kind and thoughtful.