Carrie Wong Learned Korean After Stressful Taxi Experience In Seoul

Mediacorp actress Carrie Wong, 32, recently shared a travel story that sounds equal parts stressful and heartwarming — one that ultimately motivated her to learn an entirely new language.

The incident took place nearly a decade ago during a trip to South Korea with her mum.

After dinner one chilly evening, the pair decided to hail a taxi back to their hotel. Simple enough, right?

Not quite.

“As long as we were speaking English, the uncle refused to take us, and he just drove away,” recalled Carrie.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a one-off encounter.

The same thing happened when they tried to flag down another cab, leaving Carrie increasingly frustrated... and freezing.

She remembered feeling “very stressed in the moment”, especially as the cold weather set in and all she wanted was to get her mum safely back to the hotel.

Running out of options, Carrie turned to the trusty Google Translate app.

She approached what she described as “a random man” on the street, showed him the translated message, and explained that taxi drivers were refusing to take them because they didn't speak Korean.

What happened next restored her faith in humanity.

“The man was very kind. This guy flagged down a cab for us, and told the uncle to send us to the hotel, and he actually got into the cab together with us,” she shared.

The stranger didn't just help them secure a ride — he accompanied them all the way back to their hotel and only left after ensuring they had safely arrived at the lobby.

The experience left a lasting impression on Carrie.

In fact, it completely changed the way she viewed travel.

“I [told] myself that if I don’t speak the language, I’m not coming back to this country anymore. But because I love to shop in Korea, I actually picked up some Korean. I can speak proper Korean now, so I have no issue going back to that country anymore,” she revealed.

Thankfully, all that hard work learning Korean has come in handy.

Carrie is set to appear in the upcoming suspense thriller kiDnap GAME, a major co-production involving companies from Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. The series will feature actors from seven Asian territories, including Korean star Lee Joon Gi and Taiwanese actress Alice Ko.

The drama is expected to air later this year. Fans may remember spotting Carrie and Lee Joon Gi filming scenes around Singapore, including Joo Chiat and Merlion Park, last November.

Safe to say, this time around, language barriers were probably the least of her worries.