韓國推出新地址系統 民衆褒貶不一

The South Korean government is trying to make giving directions a little easier.

韓國政府正在爭取使指路更爲方便一些。

Small blue placards featuring new addresses have been hung up on every building around the country.

全國所有建築物上都懸掛着標有新地圖的藍色小型圖示。

They are replacing an older address system some say was not very helpful without a map. But public reaction so far has been mixed to the new building numbers. Some in Korea say the change means a loss of cultural heritage.

他們正在取代舊的指路系統，有些人說，不標地圖的話，老指路系統不是很好用。不過，公衆對這種新的建築編號的反應不一。有些韓國人認爲，這一改變意味着喪失了文化傳統。

Taxi driver Hong Jae-do punches an address into his dashboard-mounted GPS navigator. He has been a cabbie for about four years and says his job would be really hard without this device.

出租車司機洪材道向他裝在汽車儀表板上的GPS全球定位系統裏輸入一個地址。他幹了4年出租車司機。他說，沒有這個設備的話，就很難幹他的活兒。

Hong says he relies on his GPS whenever he cannot find an address. Without it, he said he would have a really tough time, especially when he has to travel outside of Seoul.

洪材道說，他只要找不到地址，就會依靠GPS。他說，沒有GPS的話，他的日子就很不好過，尤其是在他不得不在首爾以外開車的時候。

Japanese model

One reason blamed for the difficulty in navigating is Korea’s address system. It is modeled on the Japanese system, which assigns addresses chronologically instead of geographically. In other words, buildings are numbered according to when they were built - not according to where they are located on a street.

人們認爲，韓國的地址系統容易讓人迷路。韓國的地址系統模仿的是日本的體系。這就是說，地址的標號是根據年代而不是根據地理位置。換句話說，建築物是按照它的建築時間編號，而不是根據它在大街上的位置編號。

But this complex system soon will be a thing of the past.

不過，這種複雜的系統不久就會成爲歷史。

A TV commercial introduces viewers to Korea’s new address system, which the government here says will make it easier and quicker to order out food, send packages and get help in case of an emergency.

韓國電視廣告向觀衆介紹了韓國的新地址系統。韓國政府在廣告中說，新地址系統將使人們更加容易和迅速地訂餐、寄包裹和在緊急情況下獲得幫助。

The new system is more Western-style, using only a building’s number, street and city.

這個新地址系統更加西方化一些，只使用建築物號碼、街道名稱和城市名稱。

Dual usage of the old and new system will be permitted until December 2013. That is when the Japanese-style addresses will be officially abandoned.

在2013年12月之前，可以同時使用新舊地址系統，也就是說兩種系統並存。在2013年12月之後，韓國將正式放棄使用日本式的地址系統。

Buddhist opposition

But not everyone is excited about the new system. And, some of the strongest opposition comes from Buddhists.

可是，並非所有的人都對啓用新系統感到激動。

Monks at Seoul’s Jogye Temple petitioned the government to hold off on using the new system.

一些最強烈的反對來自佛教徒。首爾曹溪寺的僧侶們向政府請願，要求暫時不要使用新系統。Monk To-gyoung explained why his order opposes some of the addresses. He said there are areas and roads that are closely related to Buddhism. He said the monks are protesting because the names of these places are disappearing with the new address system, and they feel they are losing their heritage.

主持土真法師解釋了他們反對一些新地址的原因。土真說，有些地區與道路與佛教密切相關。他說，這些僧侶之所以抗議，是因爲新地址系統將會讓這些老地名消失，他們感到將要喪失傳統。

He said the monks do not oppose the new address system in general. They are only asking the government to not change the names of the roads that have a Buddhist connection.

他說，僧侶們並不是一概反對新地址系統，他們只是要求政府不要改變那些與佛教有關的道路名稱。

Hopeful business owners

Officials of the South Korean Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the government body in charge of the new addresses, declined to be interviewed. But a spokeswoman said that the ministry is still working out the problems of implementing the new system.

負責新地址系統的政府機構、韓國公共管理與安全部的官員謝絕採訪。不過，一位女發言人說，該部門正在設法解決實行新地址系統將要遇到的問題。

Some business owners say the new building numbers could bring in more customers.

一些公司老闆說，新的建築編號可能會帶來更多顧客。

Yeon-il is the 70-year-old owner of a tea house located on a small alley in one of Seoul’s busy tourist neighborhoods. She is glad to see the old system go, she says, but is not getting her hopes up yet about the new street addresses.

70歲的寅日是一個茶館老闆。她的茶館開在首爾最熱鬧的遊覽區的一條小衚衕裏。她說，她很高興看到結束使用老地址系統，不過她也沒有對新街道地址系統抱太大希望。

She also says because of the way the old address system works, people do have a tough time finding her shop; sometimes, they walk right by it. But she says she is not so sure if the new system will make things any easier because there are so many small alleys in this neighborhood and all around the country. People need to be given clear directions, she says, and look for landmarks to know where to go.

寅日說，由於老地址系統的工作方式，人們要費很大的勁兒才能找到她的茶館，他們有時候從茶館門口路過都沒看到她的店。不過她說，她也說不準新地址系統是否會更容易使用，因爲在這個地區和在全國各地，有許多小巷。她說，確實應當給人們提供清晰的路標，使人們可以看到重要的地標，從而知道該怎麼走。

Yeon-il points out that if people could not find what they were looking for under the old system, they still probably will not be able to find it now, no matter what numbers appear by the front door.

她還說，無論門牌號是什麼，如果人們在老地址系統下找不到某個地址的話，那麼在新地址系統下，他們可能還是找不到。