Korean Tourism Board - Why it is not working.

Koreans have been trying like stink to get people to visit Korea as tourists, and steal tourists away from places such as Tokyo, Beijing or Taipei. On paper Korea has a lot to offer. While there is no equivalent on a Great Wall of China in Korea there is a lot to see and do and I'm sure many people would add it to an Asian trip if they knew anything about it. The problem is that the Korean Tourist Board continues to make ads like this one, which has even played on CNN. Now some people have already called this racist stereotyping, and while I understand their viewpoint I don't agree. The Korean Tourism Board's job is to attract people to Korea, they are not going to be racist in their advertising. It's just a really bad ad.

Compare the Korean ad with what I think are two great campaigns. First is the Malaysia Truly Asia campaign and the second is the Live it Love it Hong Kong campaign of a few years ago. Both really did a great job of showing off their respective destinations and both tried to appeal to people from around the world. The idea of several groups of tourists representing travel demographics (young couples, small group of friends, retired couple etc.) having fun in that country makes you want to do it too. I mean, in the Malaysian one I can eat great food, see beautiful natural wonders, explore a jungle and go shopping. It makes Malaysia look appealing.

The Korea ad, in comparison, shows nothing of Korea at all. It's just a bunch of people walking around in their countries respective traditional clothing asking random questions to a guy playing on him Samsung smart phone. The message, come to Korea and see a young Asian guy with his head buried in a computer..... although really you can see that anywhere that has an Asian population. In fact, when I see that Japanese girl in her Kimono all I think is, I want to go to Japan. At no point is there a shot of Jeju-do, or a temple, or a great shot of a night out in Seoul or Busan.

This is how the ad goes:

The first shot is a cowboy asking about bibimbap, now 95% of viewers will have no idea what that is. In fact, it's just rice, vegetables and spicy chilli sauce. It's the Grilled Cheese sandwich of Korea. It's good for sure, but when you consider that the Hong Kong and Malaysian tourists are eating full spreads a bowl of rice seems less appealing. Also, we never see the dish or have it explained to us. Just saying that we COULD have seen a full Jon shik served by two smiling ladies in Hanbok's to normal looking tourists, just saying. Second is Napoleon's Imperial guard asking about the 2018 Olympics. SOOO Korea will host the Olympics in seven years... what you're saying is we should go to Korea then? Scene three has the Sultan of Dubai asking same said Korean guy about Korea's exports. Who the hell visits a country based on it's industrial capacity? Now as a business investor this may interest you, but given that the rest of the ad is targeted at tourists it seems out of place. Next is the very cute Japanese girl asking about a song (never mentions that it is supposed to be a Korean song). After seeing her I really want to visit Japan. Even if it were a guy in a samurai costume, it would still sell Japan to a potential tourist coming to Asia much more than the guy with the smartphone does. Next is Chinese girl asking about Korean TV drama. Again, who visits a country because it makes good TV shows? Also, as with the Japanese girl, she seems far more interesting to a prospective traveller to Asia than the Korean guy does and will sell Beijing to many people.

It finished with a happy looking Korean guy and his new model Samsung smart phone available at local retailers now.


Now a GOOD Korean add would have had 6-8 normal looking foreigners doing stuff like:

-shopping in Seoul
-seeing castles and Insadong in Seoul
-visiting a temple like Haeinsa
-hiking on Jeju-do
-relaxing on a beach in Jeju-do or Namhae
-shopping at the markets near Nampodong in Busan
-sipping green tea at the Boseong tea fields in spring
-in the National Parks in Gangwondo
-seeing historical sights in Gyeongju or Andong
-walking around Suwon fortress
-eating a full spread of Korean food at a nice restaurant


The fact is that if THAT ad is what they are using to attract westerners to Korea, then the Japanese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Chinese tourist boards all have an easier time.

Australia/Ireland RWC in Daegu. 시끄럽다.

On Saturday afternoon I headed down to travellers (a foreigner sports bar in Daegu) to watch Ireland/Australia in the Rugby World Cup. I'm not exactly an avid rugby fan, but I did get in to it a bit when I lived in Australia in 2003-2004 and I find it much more enjoyable than American football (of which it is often compared). I was with Barry, Drew and several of their friends (all Irish or Irish supporters). Geoff also showed up but found the smoke a bit intense and left for a while (it was a struggle for me too, but I endured to watch the game). Australia were favourites but Ireland outplayed them at every turn and won 15-6. I bought Barry a pint as I had lost our wager (I took Australia, just cause it's not much of a bet if you both pick the same team, and I supported Aus in the 2003 WC in Australia). The World Cup itself is being played in New Zealand but the crowd were largely Irish supporters (I'm sure more than a few were kiwi's who wanted anyone but Australia) but even still, I was surprised at the lack of Aussie supporters in New Zealand. I was also surprised by the lack of Aussie supporters in the bar. There were more South Africans left over from the earlier South Africa/Fiji game (which may also have accounted for the excess smoke in the bar :) ).

I had never been to Travellers before (although I thought I had). I liked the food and really liked their layout but on that night it was just WAY too noisy and smokey. I usually avoid western bars in Korea anyway as they're usually full of screaming 23 year old newbies and devoid of any locals, but I was hoping a sports bar might be a better venue for adults. Alas is was not to be on this particular night and we ended up moving to The New Yorker (the bar mentioned last week) for the above mentioned pint. All that being said, on a sane night it is worlds better than the dungeon that is communes or the kids playground that is MF Bar of the GI hole that is Thursday Party or Who's Bob (these being the other foreigner bars downtown) and I'd love to go back just to relax and watch a ballgame one night.

Before the game I had also met up with my friend Hae Mi. She was looking for a new English book (we do Korean/English classes together but her old English books are not that good, so we got a better one). We then went down to Starbucks for a coffee and chatted. She taught me a very useful word (among many other words), 시끄럽다 - Which means noisy. We also decided to make a regular meeting time, we can assign homework and make sure to keep on top of it. When I did regular classes with Ji Won that worked really well for me so I'm hoping it will work here too. I also really like Hae Mi, as she doesn't have that shy Korean attitude. She says what she thinks and is very funny. I think our classes will be good.

Chuseok 2011

Well another Chuseok has come and gone and as with every year, the Koreans hold up with family and we don't see them for four days and the westerners all travel around. It was no different this year.

With my payday arriving after Chuseok I was more or less broke but still managed a descent four days. Saturday I caught the bus to Seochang to chill with Paul, drink a bit and sample the local Seochang cuisine. We also managed a 2+ hour skype conversation with Kris and Miranda in Halifax, which was awesome as neither of us had actually talked to them in months. I stayed most of Sunday and got home around 9pm. Monday was actual Chuseok and the city was shut down except for a few bars/restaurants that were open in the evening. I decided to meet with Drew and Barry, who had gotten married in August and just come back to Korea. We hit a downtown restaurant then hit a bar called New York New York. Only Korean place I know of with that wide a range of beers. We then finished the night at Sydney st. Tuesday I decided to do a long hike to burn off Monday evening and it worked well.

Now back for a 3 day work week.

couchsurfing.org

so if you haven't already check this site out.

It's basically a place where people who are travelling can meet and offer up place sto stay to people in their neighbourhood or find a place to crash when they are on the road. With the biggest cost of travelling being hotels, this sight could end up saving you thousands, provided you are happy to crash with a relative stranger. Still, my friend Kurt did Guam and Saipan with this and swears by it. My friend Geoff is using it in Osaka/Kyoto right now (I'll be very interested to hear his opinions on it as well). I mean Japan without having to pay hotel/hostel prices? Sweet.

On the reverse you can end up hosting someone or even just meeting up for coffee or a daytrip. I've been asked by a German girl travelling to meet up/hang out. She had talked about crashing here but I think found a girl to crash with and was more comfortable with that (very understandable) but we may still end up doing Haeinsa on the Sunday. Meeting a random backpacker from Germany? Also Sweet.

Anyway, for more than a few of my readers this could be useful, if you sign up I can give you a good recommendation (It's good to have a few so people are more comfortable when messaging you, especially if you are a guy) if you let me know.

sampling the new Makkeoli jips, must get ARC, upcoming Chuseok weekend

well a bit of a mixer as I'm trying to get a few things done in one blog :)

First off, I had been meaning to go to the "new" Makkeoli 3000 in Sangin for some time (I say new in that it is almost a year old now) and finally went last night with my friend Youbin for a kettle and some food. Makkeoli 3000 is a chain franchise that a few of us have named "Gangnam Makkeoli" (Gangnam in the area of Seoul where the VERY rich and trendy of modern Korea live. All the K-pop and film stars, along with fashion designers and industrialists live there) because of its fruit flavoured makkeoli's and other rather trendy add-on's. It's big thing is that a kettle of makkeoli is 3000 won. Well anyway my verdict is: it's not bad. Certainly no replacement for Sangin Makkeoli or Keimyung makkeoli but it certainly had it's pro's, especially the extensive food menu. If I were downtown I'd take the downtown branch over the plethora of western run bars in a heartbeat.

I have also been extremely lazy in going to immigration to get my ARC (Alien Registration Card). Normally I'd need to it get phone and internet but because I have both already, I've been lazy in getting it. Now I have 90 days to do it legally, but I really should have done it by now. This weekend is a holiday weekend so I will probably have to do it on Wednesday now, which is fine. Still, I feel that by writing it down I'll be forced to actually do it :) So if I don't go Wed am I will have to write back here showing how lazy I am, which I don't want to do :P

Speaking of that holiday weekend. This weekend is Chuseok, which is loosely translated as Thanksgiving (very loosely). Koreans get together in their extended families to cook, eat and repeat. I get the feeling that it's a bit like Thanksgiving in Canada, where some people are excited to have a big family party and others are dreading the work or family dynamics associated with a family gathering. Some things really are universal :P. For westerners it's a four day weekend. However, being that I just had a two month holiday in Vancouver and payday comes after the holiday I'm kinda broke and so will probably stay in teh Gyeongsan region. Others are having more fun as Geoff is off to Osaka/Kyoto for a week and other friends are off to Jeju-do, Seoul and even Hong Kong. For me I think a weekend in Seochang with Paul and Monday hanging out with Hae Mi and later Barry and Drew will make up my holiday. My next holiday is January and I've already got Nagasaki/Fukuoka Japan in mind but for this one I'll keep it in Gyeongsan.

Anyway, time to start my day.

weekend in Seongseo

The weekend began with me and my coworkers meeting up with another friend, Jason, and heading out to Sydney st. in Seongseo (my old neighbourhood). It turned in to a night between Sydneys and Keimyung Makkeoli and Geoff and Bobby showed up later in the evening. We managed to meet several Koreans there and chatted for a while, they were nice kids and it was a good night.

Saturday I was a bit slow to get up but did make it out in the evening. I met a friend for dinner and was planning on meeting Geoff and Bobby again, but they decided at last minute to go downtown for the evening. I was a bit annoyed at the last minute change, but I was already a bit tired and given the choice between MF bar and sleep the choice of sleep became a very easy one to make, which did make my Sunday very nice.

Sunday I woke up early and went to meet Jiwon for coffee in Seongseo. I hadn't seen much of her since I got back and wanted to catch up. After that I had language class with Hae Mi and then we hung out for a while in Sangin. Then dinner and a chill night with friends.

Next weekend I'm off to Paul's for Chuseok :)

follow up to 'black rampage' and the Korean/western divide

Well it's been almost a week since 'black rampage' hit the social media sites. Well that goof will get deported and thats that. Except that it's not. Since the video I've been following blogs and websites that I'd normally steer clear of. Actually I've found both the Koreans and westerners here amazing.... in the same way a 10 car pileup is amazing. First off, many of the western sites keep talking about this western/Korean divide getting worse and worse. This amazed me. I had no idea there was such a satrong divide. Seriously. I mean, I know a few Koreans have ideas that are out of our 19th century, especially to do with race, and a few westerners hide up in the western bar scene acting like a bunch of colonialists from 1900. Actually what I love is how much BOTH groups act like they belong in a colonial era film about British India. But I had no idea it was a common thread of discussion among so many expats.

Now I have met Koreans who have been racist, condescending and rather insulting. However, they are a minority. In fact, in many cases their own friends will tell them to shut up (especially once they realise that their rude friend is being understood by a few of the westerners). More often than not, when I start up a conversation with Koreans it ends with phone numbers being exchanged, drinks bought for each other or coffee drunk together and a good time being had by all. Yes, you will meet a few Koreans who will tell you they don't want to talk to you..... fair enough, it's everybody's loss but at least I did my best. As to stereotypes about westerners. Yes, SOME Koreans share this idea that westerners come to Korea to get drunk and have sex. SOME think that outside ideas are dangerous and that westerners should be kicked out of Korea. SOME Koreans will start a conversation by talking about how much westerners can drink, assuming we all like to get blackout drunk every night. SOME do, but in my experience it's not the majority that so many westerners think it is. In fact, I think these idiots with the dumb ideas get so much discussion time amongst the westerners simply because so few westerners ever leave their 7-8 enclaves long enough to meet a Korean person. I mean, have you ever actually heard a Korean talk about fan death? The only time I have it was suggested that when a Korean war vet drinks 8 bottles of soju on a 35 degree August night and goes home to a small, unventilated room to pass out and subsequently dies of dehydration no one wants to call him out on his alcoholism (hello Confucius) so instead it's "fan death". Sure some kids probably believe it, and I bet a few adults do too. But you hear it discussed in the expat community WAY more than you do amongst Koreans. I do know that experiences vary, and people in small towns probably experience more of the close minded behaviour than people in, say Seoul. I'll just say that my experiences in Ulsan (a fairly small town, being that it's really four small towns all tied together through a bus network) and Daegu (an admittedly big town) have been largely what I am discussing here.

I also find many westerners here deliberately avoid much contact with the locals. If they have Korean friends at all the friend speaks fluent English, often is very westernised and may very well have lived in the west for years. Otherwise they are co-workers who, more likely than not, do not go to the expat scene even when offered. Now if that's how you want to spend your time that's your own business, but I feel that then sitting around passing judgement on Korea, when you have no knowledge of what it is you pass judgement on, is unfair and that will lead to hostility from Koreans. Also, walking around screaming at each other in groups of twenty all the time doesn't help, most Koreans I have talked to about this think that foreigners are too loud and they find it irritating/offensive. Also, a group like that is hard to approach, even if you want to. Just sayin.

My point in all this is not to damn anybody, but to point out how similar everyone really is. Two groups that stick to themselves and pass stupid stories around that have little to no basis in fact, or are based on stereotypes or on "what someone saw or heard". I am told weekly how my Korean friend has a Korean friend who wants to meet with a foreigner but doesn't know how. I'm not exaggerating, weekly. So if you're a westerner who wants to meet a few Koreans get 2-3 friends and go to some college campus area or some makkeoli place (not the makkeoli 3000 downtown but some place near where you live). Say hi, you may get shot down but you also may make a few new friends. If you're a Korean, meeting westerners isn't that hard. Just go up and say hi, especially if they are in a small group. But PLEASE don't ask the 20 questions they taught you in school (where are you from? do you like Korea?). Just offer to split a coffee or beer or something.

Anyway, I'm getting very preachy so I should stop. But it would be nice is "black rampage" could just stay as what it is, an isolated idiot.