Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Junior]

We're not quite there yet but enough to start considering putting the country on your itinerary..I certainly am.

Colombia�s back. After decades of civil conflict, Colombia is now safe to visit and travelers are discovering what they�ve been missing.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/colombia

Thanks to improved intelligence, joint operations involving the army, air force and marines, and billions in aid from the United States, the Colombian military has scored some impressive victories. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the nation�s largest rebel army known as the FARC, have been reduced from 18,000 to about 9,000 fighters.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/colombia/091019/embed-colombian-army-farc

[blade]

I wouldn't be making travel plans just yet if I were you.
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7520-colombian-police-claim-lower-murder-rates-other-entities-show-alarming-rise.html

[bacasper]

I heard they check your bank account at the border upon entry to see if you are worth kidnapping. Perhaps an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

I would love to go, however, if I could get a few more credible reassurances.

[quilter]

I lived there for a year, as my wife is Colombian, and we never had a problem. We traveled around a bit, but were always mindful about where the hot spots were, and didn't travel anywhere near the FARC held territories.

I would recommend going there in a heart beat though. Wonderful people, interesting culture, and lovely chicas! The weather was awesome too. Can't wait to retire there.

[bucheon bum]

I have a friend who was there last month, and a former classmate (American) who goes there frequently. Also met a woman on NYE that works for a Colombian NGO. She said it is perfectly safe for tourists (assuming you dont into the areas where FARC is still a presence). That being said, I'd suggest going sooner rather than later since there a few signs that the instability could return sometime in the future.

[Tiger Beer]

Colombia has been raging with tourism for at least 10 years. I was in South America 12 years ago, and most 'backpackers' and other of that mindset heartily had that destination as one of their main attractions/destinations.

I think a more correct assessment might be 'corporations geared towards making money wherever they can get, have finally convinced some mainstream Americans who might not otherwise go there, to take the risk'.

I think the reality is that for adventurous types, they have always gone to Colombia, and always will go to Colombia. But to encourage my own mom and dad to visit there, no, not a good idea.

That being said, if I could get a plane ticket from Tokyo to Cartagena tomorrow, and had the time for it, I would go in a mini-heartbeat, and always would have, regardless if its somehow 'safe' now and wasn't 10 years ago - to me it's the same in the 'safety' respect now or then.

[Felix the Cat]

I just left Colombia not two weeks ago, spending a couple of weeks in Medellin. The country still has its problems, to be sure, but it has definitely turned a corner. FARC is a shadow of what it used to be, AUC under wraps, and the violence of the drug trade has moved to northern Mexico.

Colombia was one of the brightest highlights to my travels, and I'll be going back as soon as I can.

[Felix the Cat]

xxxx

[Felix the Cat]

xxxx

[Junior]

[Sergio Stefanuto]

A friend of mine taught English there for two years with no problem