Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Korean and Japanese-language announcements have been introduced in 21 Taipei Metro stops amid an increase of tourists from South Korea and Japan, with signs and maps expected to feature the two languages at those stops by the end of August, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. said Thursday.
The 21 stops include Taipei Main Station, Taipei 101/World Trade Center, Dongmen, Ximen, Longshan Temple, Minquan West Road and Songjiang Nanjing, in order to help the increasing number of Japanese and Korean tourists navigate the metro system, the company said in a statement.
The station announcements are made first in Mandarin and then foreign languages -- with English in all stations and Japanese and Korean at designated stops -- followed by Taiwanese Hokklo and Hakka, the company said.
It added that the Japanese and Korean stop names will be added to pillars and route maps at the 21 stations by the end of August.
The company said this will be the first time the Taipei Metro 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 spelling is seen at the stations.
The company noted 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 faced.
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.
