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South Korea Ties for Most Unfriendliest Country for Tourists
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javis



Joined: 28 Feb 2013

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 8:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

augustine wrote:
javis wrote:
the riverwalk in San Antonio is great.


The riverwalk used to be a really dirty place as of a couple of years ago, but maybe they've attempted to clean it up. San Antonio is a nasty city not worth visiting, in general. But they have the best professional franchise in sports. Wink
I said that what they've done with it is great. It's still located in San Antonio, though...
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augustine



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Location: México

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

javis wrote:
augustine wrote:
javis wrote:
the riverwalk in San Antonio is great.


The riverwalk used to be a really dirty place as of a couple of years ago, but maybe they've attempted to clean it up. San Antonio is a nasty city not worth visiting, in general. But they have the best professional franchise in sports. Wink
I said that what they've done with it is great. It's still located in San Antonio, though...


I'll take your word for it, I haven't been there in two and a half years, but it was a grimy place for a long time. I hold a lot of prejudice towards SA lol.
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MetaFitX



Joined: 23 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

augustine wrote:
Don't forget to count Japanese deal shopper and plastic surgery tourism in that. Korea is definitely not the "most popular Asian country" nor the "it" country right now. Seoul was ranked 21st out of tripadvisor's travelers' choice destinations in Asia in 2012, and as someone who has traveled extensively in Asia, I still believe that that's way too high of a ranking. I think you are speaking from a very naive and ignorant point of view.


Nope. I have been all over Asia. Japanese now want to learn Korean, and listen to K-pop just as much as they do J-pop. Korea is HUGELY popular among Chinese youth. They see Korean men as gentle, wealthy, in shape, educated and handsome and want try to marry them (hell, even many Western foreign women who come to Korea eventually come around to them). Many of the boys want to find Korean women.

K-pop and K-dramas are hugely popular all over Asia.

Koreans are definitely the "in" people in Asia right now.
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augustine



Joined: 08 Sep 2012
Location: México

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MetaFitX wrote:
augustine wrote:
Don't forget to count Japanese deal shopper and plastic surgery tourism in that. Korea is definitely not the "most popular Asian country" nor the "it" country right now. Seoul was ranked 21st out of tripadvisor's travelers' choice destinations in Asia in 2012, and as someone who has traveled extensively in Asia, I still believe that that's way too high of a ranking. I think you are speaking from a very naive and ignorant point of view.


Nope. I have been all over Asia. Japanese now want to learn Korean, and listen to K-pop just as much as they do J-pop. Korea is HUGELY popular among Chinese youth. They see Korean men as gentle, wealthy, in shape, educated and handsome and want try to marry them (hell, even many Western foreign women who come to Korea eventually come around to them)*. Many of the boys want to find Korean women.

K-pop and K-dramas are hugely popular all over Asia.

Koreans are definitely the "in" people in Asia right now.


I see you're drinking the cool-aid. Korea may be on a little jump but I don't think it's very meaningful. I don't pretend to follow the trends of teenage girls but I know they're a powerful group, and also about the least self-aware, objective and worthy of having their opinions heard. Korea's new found attention comes mainly from poor countries who idolize these silly TV shows and crappy pop music from a very superficial point of view (if they only knew how a lot of those k-pop "stars" are treated behind the scenes...). The government is also in on this racket big time and pushing it as a major agenda so I think the whole thing gets inflated anyway. I knew a guy who used to own a bar in a SE Asian country and he said officials paid a bunch of kids off to pretend to be excited about a k-pop group doing a show at his bar, when in reality none of them knew who they were. Again, this cultural campaign you're talking about is almost entirely superficial and aimed at teenage girls, there's nothing really of value in it. It stinks.

*Oh, how our "perceptions" from the outside can often mislead us. That is definitely not how I would describe the vast majority of Korean men lol.
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edwardcatflap



Joined: 22 Mar 2009

PostPosted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
They see Korean men as gentle, wealthy, in shape, educated and handsome and want try to marry them


That may be true in China but talk to your average Thai or Filipina bar girl and you'll hear a very different story.
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javis



Joined: 28 Feb 2013

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

edwardcatflap wrote:
Quote:
They see Korean men as gentle, wealthy, in shape, educated and handsome and want try to marry them


That may be true in China but talk to your average Thai or Filipina bar girl and you'll hear a very different story.
Filipina bar girls are on the front lines of numerous Korean-overseas cultural exchanges Laughing
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Julius



Joined: 27 Jul 2006

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

augustine wrote:
Korea's new found attention comes mainly from poor countries who idolize these silly TV shows.


Their main drawcard is not the silly plot lines or exagerrated acting, its the opulence and lifestyles presented.

What these dramas are essentially saying is that Asians can achieve first-world wealth and become just as fussy, self-absorbed and materialistic as North Americans or west Europeans.

If you're a poor SE Asian living in a hut, K-dramas are the stuff of fantasy. And they are obviously culturally closer to the region than anything hollywood churns out.
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catman



Joined: 18 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wonder how much it has to do with Korean Taxis. Seriously.

I remember one woman complaining "In Thailand they will rip you off but at least they'll pick you up."
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atwood



Joined: 26 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Julius wrote:
augustine wrote:
Korea's new found attention comes mainly from poor countries who idolize these silly TV shows.


Their main drawcard is not the silly plot lines or exagerrated acting, its the opulence and lifestyles presented.

What these dramas are essentially saying is that Asians can achieve first-world wealth and become just as fussy, self-absorbed and materialistic as North Americans or west Europeans.

If you're a poor SE Asian living in a hut, K-dramas are the stuff of fantasy. And they are obviously culturally closer to the region than anything hollywood churns out.

Don't forget that Korean soap operas were sold at deep discounts to the Japanese and Hong Kong shows that were being aired.
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Seoulman69



Joined: 14 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Don't forget that Korean soap operas were sold at deep discounts to the Japanese and Hong Kong shows that were being aired.


Exactly. Don't underestimate the amount of money the Korean government spends on subsidizing anything Korean.
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No_hite_pls



Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Location: Don't hate me because I'm right

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seoulman69 wrote:
Quote:
Don't forget that Korean soap operas were sold at deep discounts to the Japanese and Hong Kong shows that were being aired.


Exactly. Don't underestimate the amount of money the Korean government spends on subsidizing anything Korean.


It's good marketing, and working.
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Seoulman69



Joined: 14 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
It's good marketing, and working.


It certainly is. It's the same with the chaebols. Look how much Samsung spend on marketing. I read that it's only surpassed by Coca-cola.
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slothrop



Joined: 03 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

edit

Last edited by slothrop on Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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atwood



Joined: 26 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

slothrop wrote:
atwood wrote:
Julius wrote:
augustine wrote:
Korea's new found attention comes mainly from poor countries who idolize these silly TV shows.


Their main drawcard is not the silly plot lines or exagerrated acting, its the opulence and lifestyles presented.

What these dramas are essentially saying is that Asians can achieve first-world wealth and become just as fussy, self-absorbed and materialistic as North Americans or west Europeans.

If you're a poor SE Asian living in a hut, K-dramas are the stuff of fantasy. And they are obviously culturally closer to the region than anything hollywood churns out.

Don't forget that Korean soap operas were sold at deep discounts to the Japanese and Hong Kong shows that were being aired.


kdramas are popular not just with the poor but also with the middle and upper classes. kdrama tourism is a huge industry. thai newspapers are plastered with advertisements for group tours going to visit the locations where each kdrama was filmed. i kid you not. there are hoards of SE asians flying to korea, not to see soraksan, jidi, the green tea fields or buddhist temples, but rather the street where the coffee girl that pretended she was a boy pulled up her shirt.LOL to me, this is like flying to the US not to see the grand canyon or yellowstone, but instead the location they film 'days of our lives'.

People do travel to Hollywood to walk along Sunset Blvd. They take tours to see the homes of the stars. To each his own.
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Julius



Joined: 27 Jul 2006

PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

atwood wrote:

People do travel to Hollywood to walk along Sunset Blvd. They take tours to see the homes of the stars. To each his own.


Not many westerners in this day and age would admit to that surely? Rolling Eyes

Hero worship and media-personality cults are a feature of adolescent girls or newly-developing nations that are easily suckered by popular culture.
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