Korea receives two destinctions that are actually meaningful

I often hear about how Korea's XYZ has been designated as the best ABC by a company or organization that no one has ever heard of. So when Koreans began talking about the whole host of awards for Korea this year I rolled my eyes and kept quiet. However, two that were given to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) this year are actually kinda cool and meaningful, so being as it was a slow weekend before payday I thought I'd share them instead

Incheon International Airport came third in both the Asian and World best airport award. However, being that the top three in Asia are also the top three in the world, it really does mean something. Finishing just behind 2nd place Changi International Airport in Singapore and 1st place Hong Kong International and ahead of Munich (global) and Beijing (Asian) it makes Korea a real hub of global transport. Singapore airlines already has its NE Asian base there as does Delta from the states. While it is mostly a pride thing for the employees of Incheon International, it will bring more conferences, layover tourists and investment to Korea. Having flown out of all of the top three I can see why Hong Kong came in first (and it does almost every year, except in 2009 when it came in second to Incheon). It is an amazing airport, easy to get around, well staffed. I'd vote it best airport I've ever been to as well. Changi is a place I've only flown out of, so I can't say as much about it. I was very impressive though and I can see why it did so well. Incheon is great, well organized and totally idiot-proof. The winners were decided upon after Skytrax (who monitor airport safety, comfort, reliability etc.) surveyed over 11 million air travellers in 2011. I think that's also important, as it's people who use these airports who are saying which ones are best, not some sort of industry "experts" or administrators.

As a final note, no North American airport was even in the top ten. Zurich, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur and Auckland rounded out the top ten. However, having flown in and out of a few major airports in the US and Canada I was suprised that Vancouver International or even Seatac in Seattle didn't do better. The only explanation I can think of is the treatment people receive while there. While part of it is based on reliability (no lost luggage etc.) part of it must also be based on experiences with customs. All I'll say is in all the times I've travelled to the US and Canada I've had ONE friendly customs agent. In Singapore, a country famous for rigid laws and law enforcement, my customs agent was recommending tourist spots and informing me of Singaporean laws in a matter of fact way. I'll never forget it (this all happened while our buses luggage was being checked over, I had my own agent because I was the only one there who didn't speak Bahasa Malayu... this was at the land crossing from Malaysia in to Singapore):

Singaporean Customs agent: "ummm, sooooooo do you have any illegal drugs?"
me: "nope"
SCA: "do you have any chewing gum?"
me: "I put it in that bin over there where it says to put anything that is illegal in Singapore."
SCA: (smiles) "yes exactly, that's what you were supposed to do. After this point chewing gum will bring you a massive fine and drug smuggling will bring the death sentence, we like to let everyone know"
me: "no problem" (smiles)
SCA: "great, well your bags are good, your customs form says that you will be staying in the colonial district?"
me: "yes"
SCA: "oh! Then you must try........." (he then proceedes to recommend two restaurants, a parade happening that Saturday night and a ferry tour of the river, including directions and how much it would cost).

I'm not saying that Canadian and US customs agents shouldn't be diligent, in fact I appreciate that they are, I just fail to see why they have to be such dicks about it. For too many people their first experience of Canada is an angry person demanding answers of them and treating them like a potential criminal. I'd hate a place after being treated like that too. I wonder if it's a lack of that sort of an experience that helps Changi, Incheon and HKI get such high ratings?



The second is more of a classification change. Jejudo (the entire island) was named as a UNESCO designated bio reserve. While this is meaningless in many ways (it's only protected if the country agrees not to touch it) in Korea it does guarantee a measure of protection as Korea is trying to rebrand itself as a green Asian destination and as an Asian tourist destination. While ads like this one that I mentioned earlier won't help at all, having a subtropical island in the east China sea that is a large bio preserve and far more accessable than the islands off the coast of China, and far cheaper than Okinawa, could actually actually boost tourism IF Korea promotes this in an intelligent way (can't emphasize that IF enough) regionally and even further afield. It also means that no major industrial development will take place on the island. The Korean Navy had planned a massive extension of their Jeju base and this had met from protests on Jeju will now probably be put on hold. I'm always happy to see any land protected from strip mining and industrialization and to have a 40x70 km Volcanic island now off limits is great. It's also maybe the most beautiful place I have ever been to in Korea and even in Asia (top 3 for sure) so to have it safe for future generations is a real win.


Well off to start the day....