What began as an ordinary jeepney ride to Lipa City turned into an unexpected encounter for a Korean content creator, who was greeted not in Filipino, but in his native tongue.

The TikTok user with the username @pilipinoboo had just asked how much the fare to Lipa was when the driver behind the wheel responded with a surprising “Eodi?”—the Korean word for “Where?”—to ask where in Lipa he was headed.

The foreigner realized the driver could speak Korean and captured the rare interaction on video. The clip has since gone viral on TikTok, racking up nearly 980,000 likes and 69,000 shares.

The man behind the wheel was Mayorico De Chavez Dalisay, a 42-year-old jeepney driver who had worked as a factory worker in South Korea for nearly seven years from 2006 to 2013.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Dalisay shared that his first three years in South Korea were a struggle, largely because he hadn’t made much effort to learn the language. The turning point came when his boss warned him that his contract might not be renewed due to the language barrier, which pushed him to start studying Korean.

"Halos isang taon ko rin tyinagang pag-aralan. Habang nandodoon ako, araw-araw ‘pag may hindi ako alam, I always ask questions hanggang sa matutuhan ko siya," Dalisay recalled.

"Kung talagang susubukan mo lang tapos hindi mo mamahalin, hindi mo isasapuso—mahihirapan ka.  Kailangan pagka talagang interesado ka sa pag-aaral, interesado kang matuto sa language nila, talagang… titiyagain mo talaga siya," he added.

Dalisay even learned from watching Korean TV shows, news program and even children's shows.

Learning a language becomes much easier once one is surrounded by native speakers, Dalisay said.

Romance was another factor that motivated Dalisay to learn Korean. "The truth is, nagkaroon ako ng girlfriend na Korean kaya talagang pinag-aralan ko siya. Kaso, hindi kami nagkatuluyan. ‘Yun ‘yung naging motivation ko. Siya ‘yung nagpursigi na matuto ako," he said.

"Kaso nga lang, sa kasamaang palad, hindi kami nagkatuluyan," he added.

Fast forward to his return to the Philippines, Dalisay, now a jeepney driver for the past five years, still finds opportunities to use his Korean language skills, such as in casual conversations with Korean passengers. He also proudly shared that he can watch Korean dramas without reading the subtitles.

But Korean is not the only other language that Dalisay can speak. He also learned Japanese, having worked in Japan for a year.

Dalisay said he would not think twice if given another opportunity to work abroad. But for now, he makes a living traversing the roads, even as the phaseout of traditional jeepneys continues to loom over drivers like him.

"Para sa akin medyo mahirap ‘yung nakakaambang papalitan na kami ng modern jeepney kasi mawawala na, mape-phaseout na ang jeep. Syempre wala akong alam na iba pang magiging source of income bukod dito sa jeep ko. So, medyo talagang mahirap para sa akin," he said.

"As of now enjoy na may hirap pero lagi na lang akong nagdadasal para ‘yung hirap, maibsan. Saka tumitingin na lang ako sa mga mahal ko sa buhay para yung pagod, yung hirap, ay mapawi na naman ng saya," he added.