Korean and Japanese-language announcements have been introduced in 21 Taipei MRT stops amid an increase of tourists from South Korea and Japan, with signs and maps expected to feature the two languages at the stops by the end of this month, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Thursday.
The 21 stops include Taipei Main Station, Taipei 101/World Trade Center, Dongmen, Ximen, Longshan Temple, Minquan West Road and Songjiang Nanjing, to help the increasing number of Japanese and South Korean tourists navigate the metro system, the company said in a statement.
The station announcements are made first in Mandarin and then other languages — with English in all stations and Japanese and Korean at designated stops — followed by Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and Hakka, the company said.
Photo: CNA
It added that the Japanese and Korean stop names would be added to pillars and route maps at the 21 stations by the end of this month.
The company said this would be the first time the Taipei MRT has used Japanese and Korean.
Meanwhile, to ensure accuracy, the company said it has worked with multiple experts and used special printing methods to ensure no incorrect spellings are put up at the stations.
The company said that some of the Chinese characters used in Korean are spelled and pronounced differently to the ones in Chinese, which made it one of the biggest challenges the team faces.
Meanwhile, the company said the “Go! Taipei Metro” app has been available in four languages — Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean — since June to help visitors check tickets, timetables and plan their routes more easily.
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