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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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 Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| nero wrote: |
But I am interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that Korea is not a particulary great backpacker destination. .. |
I'm more interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that this is not a bad thing.
Fairly sure that most countries would prefer tourists that actually have money to burn then your typical backpacker. |
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Patrick Bateman
Joined: 21 Apr 2009
Location: Lost in Translation
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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I like living in South Korea, but I can honestly say I can't think of anything appealing to the average traveler from the west. Or, at the very least, anything SK has, another nearby country does it better. The fact that airfare between the west and SK is noticeably higher than other countries only makes it that less appealing.
That's not to say that Korea cannot be (and is) a draw for Asian tourists. I'm actually surprised at the low amount of modern Chinese characters (the alphabet not unique people) I see. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, Korea doesn't really have much going for it as far as Western tourists. Even for people from Asia, it seems for of a 3-5 day stopover kind of place.
Heck, I think North Korea would be a better tourist draw. People WOULD drop some money to take a peak into there.
Aside from turning it into some sort of East Asian higher class den of iniquity and grey market stuff, I don't really see much to draw people here. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
Yeah, Korea doesn't really have much going for it as far as Western tourists. Even for people from Asia, it seems for of a 3-5 day stopover kind of place.
Heck, I think North Korea would be a better tourist draw. People WOULD drop some money to take a peak into there.
Aside from turning it into some sort of East Asian higher class den of iniquity and grey market stuff, I don't really see much to draw people here. |
North Korea is potentially interesting beyond its bizarro world nature, considering that much of the country's natural beauty is situated there.
Edit: I meant peninsula, not country.
Last edited by northway on Wed May 16, 2012 7:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Patrick Bateman
Joined: 21 Apr 2009
Location: Lost in Translation
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
North Korea is potentially interesting beyond its bizarro world nature, considering that much of the country's natural beauty is situated there. |
Yeah, I think it'd be really cool to see an undeveloped version of South Korea. No power lines, gray buildings, and neon signs everywhere.
I got to visit the Sky Lake on the border of China and North Korea. That was a really beautiful thing and worth the hassle getting there. |
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slothrop
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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edit
Last edited by slothrop on Sat May 19, 2012 6:45 am; edited 7 times in total |
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Menino80
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Location: Hodor?
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| I think most backpackers prefer not to fly, which is what cuts S. Korea off. It's functionally an island when it comes to through travel. |
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slothrop
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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edit
Last edited by slothrop on Sat May 19, 2012 6:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Leon
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| nero wrote: |
But I am interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that Korea is not a particulary great backpacker destination. .. |
I'm more interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that this is not a bad thing.
Fairly sure that most countries would prefer tourists that actually have money to burn then your typical backpacker. |
I'm pretty sure that not being a backpacker destination is a sign that a country is doing pretty well. Most backpacker places are places like thailand, laos, vietnam, malaysia, etc. Countries with a weak currency and low costs. The only major backpacker destination that has a strong economy that I can think of is Australia.
Many Japanese and Chinese, among other countries, love Kpop and Kdramas, and are interested in Korean things, so of course that is who the government is going to try for, not to mention the distance. |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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My Korean father-in-law just came back from here:
http://vimeo.com/28481259
Huangshan Mountain, China. He said there were Germans there, backpacking.
Nothing in Korea is this good. Or when I went to Ha long bay in Vietnam. Or the Rocky mountains, or grand canyon. Really the famous places in Gyeongju, would just be secondary items in China and not famous at all. |
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slothrop
Joined: 03 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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edit
Last edited by slothrop on Sat May 19, 2012 6:44 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Mr. BlackCat
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Location: Insert witty remark HERE
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Leon wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| nero wrote: |
But I am interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that Korea is not a particulary great backpacker destination. .. |
I'm more interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that this is not a bad thing.
Fairly sure that most countries would prefer tourists that actually have money to burn then your typical backpacker. |
I'm pretty sure that not being a backpacker destination is a sign that a country is doing pretty well. Most backpacker places are places like thailand, laos, vietnam, malaysia, etc. Countries with a weak currency and low costs. The only major backpacker destination that has a strong economy that I can think of is Australia.
Many Japanese and Chinese, among other countries, love Kpop and Kdramas, and are interested in Korean things, so of course that is who the government is going to try for, not to mention the distance. |
Europe? |
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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Leon wrote: |
| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| nero wrote: |
But I am interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that Korea is not a particulary great backpacker destination. .. |
I'm more interested to see if anyone can refute the argument that this is not a bad thing.
Fairly sure that most countries would prefer tourists that actually have money to burn then your typical backpacker. |
I'm pretty sure that not being a backpacker destination is a sign that a country is doing pretty well. Most backpacker places are places like thailand, laos, vietnam, malaysia, etc. Countries with a weak currency and low costs. The only major backpacker destination that has a strong economy that I can think of is Australia.
Many Japanese and Chinese, among other countries, love Kpop and Kdramas, and are interested in Korean things, so of course that is who the government is going to try for, not to mention the distance. |
To say that Australia is the only major backpacking destination with a good economy is a bit misguided.
The whole of Europe is a major backpacking destination for Americans, Australians, Latin Americans and for other Europeans. Costs vary from place to place as do economies but Britain, Holland, France, Spain & Italy all have decent economies and are popular locations on the backpacking circuit of Europe.
Brazil has a good economy and is a major backpacking destination,
also what about the USA, I know many Brits who have backpacked across the States, including myself.
I think people are willing to pay the price of travel in a developed economy if the country has something special, exciting or beautiful to offer. I am still waiting to hear what that is for Korea.... |
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The Sultan of Seoul
Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Location: right... behind.. YOU
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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| a true world travellr doesn't just go where you can hear bob marley singing 24 hours a day.LOL |
Massive lols. You forgot to mention RHCP and Coldplay! 
Whilst not as dramatic as other aplaces / mountains / bneaches - Korean scneery is nice. I love daedunsan, Seoraksan and other places. But that's the whole point - I wouldn't have chosen them initially over Thailand / China / Japan as places to visit. They are nice if you're in SK for other reasons, but no tourist with no previous association with Korea would choose them over places in the aforementioned countries as they do usually pale in compariosn. Daedunsan is still my fasvorite mountain though. Something about the scenery that makes me feel like I'm free from the boundaries of time. I haven't been to any mountains in other countries though, so have no comparison.
Last edited by The Sultan of Seoul on Wed May 16, 2012 8:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Europe and SEA both have the advantage of easy overland travel to varied places in close proximity to one another. One plane ticket gets you five countries without much trouble. In Korea's case, one plane ticket is getting you to Korea and back and that's about it. I ended up in Laos, Singapore, and Vietnam almost by accident via Bangkok; the same is unlikely to happen in the case of Korea. |
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