Korean Job Discussion Forums

[R-Seoul]

Hey, did anyone know that back in the 70s & 80s Korea was a sex-tourist destination for Japanese men much in the same way that Thailand & the Philippines is now. A Korean friend who works half his time in Japan and speaks japanese fluently told me all about it.

[chris_J2]

I've been to all those countries, except Pakistan, Bhutan & the Philippines.

I'll tick the ones that I ran into Americans in my travels:

1 China YES
2 Japan YES
3 India YES
4 Thailand YES
5 Philippines NA (Not Available) *
6 Vietnam YES
7 Singapore YES
8 Malaysia YES
9 Cambodia YES
10 Indonesia YES
11 Pakistan NA
12 Nepal YES
13 Bangladesh NO
14 Mongolia YES
15 Myanmar NO
16 Bhutan NA

* as a former US colony, I'm sure the answer would be 'yes'.

[earthbound14]

Korea seems to be completely off the radar of North American tourists. It's virtually invisible. MASH is the only thing Korea seems to be famous for. Although it has started popping up in off hand references in TV shows. Usually some guy talks about his time in the Korean war or they have the odd Korean bit character.

Korea is again between China and Japan...why go to Korea when you can see Japan and China? Korea is similar to both countries especially in the minds of tourists. It's just a small version of China....so why not see the real deal?

Korea has very little mystery in the eyes of the west. It doesn't have anything terribly unique about it. There are no natural wonders (Bangladesh has the Mangroves of the largest river delta in the world and is in the news at least once a year due to flooding and deaths). Nepal has Everest and the Tibetan people.

Myanmar has this mysterious history in the minds of westerners, it's alter ego of Burma (with it's capital of Rangoon) which was part of British India and on the fringes of Colonial France. There you can see the Karen people who seem to have gained a fari amount of fame in the pages of National Geographic. Same with Pakistan, and Pakistan has the Indus valley, one of the great early civilizations of the world.

Korea was the hermit kingdom. No history in the minds of westerners, nothing, just a blank. Even Japan and China have this long history of interaction (good and bad...mostly bad for the Chinese and the Japanese) with the west. The first anyone ever heard of Korea was the Korean war. Before that it was often assumed to be part of China, or China's little brother...it's little angry, loner of a little brother. Korea went right past mystery and right into obscurity.

Mogolia also holds it's place within the minds of the west as those great barbarians who screwed with the mighty China and inspired the great wall. They also live in a way that is considered interesting to westerners now. Exotic even. I met a guy in Canada who was living in a yurt (hippy guy).

Which brings us to Bhutan....the pinnacle of mystery and the exotic. They were obscure, but did not modernise like Korea. They have kept the foreign element out. Now they have this old way of life, this pre modern world waiting to be discovered by people who've seen enough big cities and are looking for something new and untouched. Not to mention it's in the Himalayas.

What are you going to come here to see? Sorak Mountain? Go to the beaches? visit it's incredibly modern cities? See it's rustic lifestyle? See it's pre modern culture?

Korea is a again, stuck in the middle. Not developed enough, developed too much. Factories, cities in a state of development second to Hong Kong or Tokyo, a history of war overshadowed by Vietnam, attrocities less interesting than the Killing Feilds, a democratic movement less interesting than the events of Tiananmen square, beaches less scenic than the Philippines.

Korea has also been a pretty humble country. They never built anything like Angkor Wat, The Forbidden City, Baktapur or the Taj Mahal. Korean cities, while great, were all humbly built to fit with each other and their environment. Korea's temples are ellegant and soothing, but they do not make you say "Wow". Korean historical architecture is highly under rated and often overlooked in favour of buildings from Japan or China.

Add to that it's geographic isolation....and lack of Pina Coladas....

That's all I can think of

[Otherside]

Do you guys think China would still be no. 1 on the list if they listed China and Hong Kong (and Macau) as seperate entities?

[jvalmer]

Korea should market Kyeongju more. Those hill burials and that cave Buddha were cool. Also, the DMZ is pretty cool. But nooo, most of the ads are for places in Seoul.

[Sadebugo1]

I should have added this before:

Number of visitors for 2007

1 China 1,710,292
2 Japan 815,882
3 India 696,739
4 Thailand 681,972
5 Phillipines 578,983
6 Vietnam 412,301
7 Singapore 409,000
8 Malaysia 204,844
9 Cambodia 137,539
10 Indonesia 130,963
11 Pakistan 126,168
12 Nepal 19,925
13 Bangladesh 13,422
14 Mongolia 9,549
15 Myanmar 6,309
16 Bhutan 5,018

It does seem very odd that Korea would not have at least 5,000 American tourists like Bhutan. The poll seems to be based on official numbers and quotes other stats such as number of flights to each country, etc. I thought maybe the methodology had affected Korea. For example, returnees and/or job seekers aren't considered tourists. Of course, I'm sure Korea gets a plethora of tourists from its neighboring countries due to proximity if nothing else.

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[chris_J2]

I also think Ulleungdo Island is very under rated, & off most peoples radar. I'd love to go back there, one day. There was a typhoon in the East Sea in August, so I didnt get to see Dok Do up close.

Jejudo is another under rated island, that only foreign expats seem to visit...

I still think China would rate highly, even without HK/Macao, & not just because of the Olympic Games. It's 50% bigger than the contiguous USA, so it takes weeks, or even months, to see it properly.

[Tiger Beer]

Many years living in Korea, I only met ONE backpack tourist, and I was shocked and amazed that he was going to travel around Korea for a month.

[Tobias]

[earthbound14]

[jajdude]

[earthbound14]

[Sadebugo1]

Another poll posted on the general discussion forum which sort of backs up this one.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=134905

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[hogwonguy1979]

I was in Burma last summer and didnt see one american over 10 days, lots of europeans but not one american. when i'd mentioned i was american the reactions i got were "wow"

suprised Laos didnt get a mention, thats another hidden gem

[mindmetoo]