In this summer vacation, I went to Tokyo, Japan. Mercifully, as I was accompanied by one of my friends who can speak Japanese a little bit, I could communicate in Japanese when we asked about our destination or went shopping. However, some Japanese couldn't understand our pronunciation, so we solved the situation using English.  
Japanese people are not known for good English speaking. However, the people I met during my travels were confident and active English speakers. They did not look like they had any fear or shyness even though they were using basic English. From the guard of a building to the chef of a sushi restaurant, everyone kindly approached me before I could even use my basic English. Despite the nonfluency of their conversation, their cordial smiles and gestures made me feel comfortable.
Contrary to my experience in Japan, I could not give a hand to foreigners in Korea. Recently, while waiting for a subway in Seoul with one of my friends, we met a foreign woman who was looking for directions. She did not look like a native  English-speaker, but she approached us and asked, "Can you speak English?." We hesitated at first. Though we understood her words, we felt embarrassed. We just gave a short reply to her question with a smile. Fortunately, with a map located at the station, we managed to cope with her problem.
After she disappeared, my friend joked with me that when foreigners come close, I just smile brightly and sneak away. Reminded of my experiences, I found that my smile was different than Japanese smiles. Mine was a defensive smile.
We(I and my friend) have endeavored to master English like other students. We have taken lectures from language schools and studied for English qualification tests like TOEIC and TOEFL. However, we shrank away with our defensive smiles when we encountered a foreigner.
Of course, Japanese youths we encountered near a university showed their fluent English. They even gave us a little information related to our destination with an active attitude. Their confidence did not originate from their knowledge in English. I think their confidence made them fluent speakers.
Koreans' interest in English is considerably high. However, being a fluent speaker does not mean making full use of ones' knowledge. It is all about attitude. You can easily run into a foreigner in Cheongju nowadays. Which is your attitude on encountering a foreigner, a confident smile or a defensive smile?