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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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fermentation
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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 Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| jaj wrote: |
Every time one of my students describes a vacation to me, it involves moving through major cities of other countries in tour groups of other Koreans, mostly eating at Korean restaurants and aside from taking pictures of landmarks, avoiding the natives at all costs.
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Most Korean travel agencies seem to plan trips that way. Most people who go on these trips are old people who don't really want to experience foreign culture. My parents traveled to Thailand through one and never even had a bite of Thai food!
From my observations, the Japanese are somewhat similar. They seem to go through the motions and rush through places just so they can say they been there. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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| jaj wrote: |
Every time one of my students describes a vacation to me, it involves moving through major cities of other countries in tour groups of other Koreans, mostly eating at Korean restaurants and aside from taking pictures of landmarks, avoiding the natives at all costs.
I know that tourists are like this in general but they have a sense of themselves as being a people who must remain apart from others, that is extreme.
Another issue always seeming to come up is safety. My students have an acute fear of being robbed or attacked once they leave Korea. No culturally diverse modern city that I can think of can meet their standards of "safety," however.
How long will it take for this place to get over itself and just join the world? |
Chinese travel in this manner as well. |
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Oreovictim
Joined: 23 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Mix1 wrote: |
Yet none of them actually knew any foreigners except for one of them who had travelled abroad. And she spent her time going to bars and clubs hooking up with "many" guys while she had a boyfriend back in Korea. Yet she had the nerve to tell my girlfriend to watch out for foreign guys because they are cheating playboys.
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That sucks. I did four years in Korea, and now I'm in China. The very first local I chatted with online said out-of-the-blue, "But I must be careful in Shanghai. It isn't safe these days. Most foreign men here are bad and sleep with lots of women!" I asked her how many foreign men she's met. She responded, "Well, none, but I work with some foreign women, and they told me," At this point I had to end the conversation. I can't deal with people like that. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I do think that part of the reason Koreans do the big group travel is that they lack the language ability to get by on their own. |
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tiger fancini
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Location: Testicles for Eyes
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| I do think that part of the reason Koreans do the big group travel is that they lack the language ability to get by on their own. |
The package tour deal does seem ridiculous to me, and it sounds like my personal idea of hell. But from a Korean viewpoint, I can see how it makes sense.
Remember that most Korean workers don't enjoy much paid annual leave from their jobs. When I was a kid, my Dad could easily book off 2 weeks in August for our family holiday. Most Korean workers I know are amazed and shocked when I tell them this. They might get 2 or 3 extra days around a national holiday, if they're lucky.
So taking wife and kids on a 5-countries-in-5-days whirlwind trip of Europe is often one of the few options available. Plus, again from a Korean viewpoint, such trips can be pretty competitively priced. |
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