Korean Job Discussion Forums

[steelhead]

Hey,

I have to bounce out of the country for a "visa" run. I was contemplating going to Shanghai, but because I am solo, the best way to go is with one of those package tours? It would be good to see the sights, but maybe awkward as hell being the only wagook on the trip and flyin solo.

Any tips on Shanghai?

My other option is Dalian where a buddy lives. Sounds pretty stale but would be able tget the lay of the land on a short trip.

Opinions?

Thanks

[gmat]

Not sure but I think the consulate in Liaoning is in Shenyang, not Dalian.

edit: double checked, there is a consulate in Shanghai, Shenyang, Qingdao and a few other souther Chinese cities BUT NONE in Dalian.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Are you sure you want to drive past all those Chinese restaurants on the way to an over-priced Korean one?

[tomwaits]

Maybe he's doing a "tourist visa run."

Anyway I would say a tour would just put a mark-up on things you can do yourself. I think Shanghai exploring on your own would be a lot more fun than being herded around--esp in Hangul.

You can get a nice hotel on the "walk street"---near the famous waterfront for the price of a yogwan.

If the tour is for a few days and a few towns---maybe ---but China is cheap and hotels can arrange tours. DIY I would say.

[Swiss James]

Shanghai is pretty easy to get around and find the cool stuff, I don't really see how a package tour would help. It's a wicked city too, you may hear a lot of things about how international it is, but it's still very, very chinese and totally different to Korea.

[chiaa]

I talk to a lot of people here at the store and I have never ever heard one positive story about the package tours. I have even been told a couple of times people ditched the tour out of frustration and went off on their own.

A lot of people state that all you will eat is Korean food and many of you might be saying yeah right. IT IS 100% TRUE.

Now if you want to get a air/hotel package I have heard good things (but a bit pricey) about these.

[steelhead]

It is just a tourist run.

Well my buddy is in Dalian, might be pretty dead.

The tour package for shanghai is almost the same price, little more but comes with a hotel. Of course I can ditch the tour, probably would....

Maybe just hitch in a bus to some destinations, for ease of travel. Who knows I cant decied. Goin to Dalian would be convenient, but maybe a waste of a trip, and who knwo swhen the next one would or could be.

I head its a great city.... Whats there to do?

[Universalis]

I would stay far, far away from any Korean package tours. Based on everything I've heard, it's a real racket, with Korean-owned businesses in, say, Bangkok, subsidizing the travel agencies' package tours in exchange for tour guides who bring in mobs of Korean customers.

I talked about this on my blog a few weeks ago... here's a comment I received in response:

I did a package tour to Thailand and "experienced" Thai culture/cuisine to the same effect as your student. My elementary Korean was sufficient to hear folks gripe about the inferiority of Thai rice and kimchi, as well as jealousy that one old lady had the foresight to bring "real" gochujang.

Our tourguide (Korean expat) must have made a killing of commissions/referals by taking us to every Korean-owned business in Bangkok/Pattaya.

The ever-present Thai photographers (taking pictures of our group and then mounting them in keychains, ashtrays, etc) were selling their crap for a dollar; this bubba would buy 'em all and sell them to our group for five.

The Koreans also didn't have a clue about transvestites in the cabaret show. Probably ostracized myself further from the group when I laughed at the crestfallen young men when the "joke" was explained to them on the way home...

Back on topic, I ate like a bird at all the Korean restaurants. When we finally ate a Thai restaurant, the group was amazed at what I could put away. One of them, without a trace of irony, said I was shoveling chow like a guy that hadn't eaten in a week.

Went back to Phuket two years later with a "package" that only included one half-day tour, and wouldn't you know it, we went to a Korean restaurant for lunch (thanks, already ate at the hotel), three Korean businesses (a pharmacist, a jeweler, and a golf "pro"). The tour guide seemed a bit miffed when I talked to the locals (in English) about stuff - totally mitigating her usefulness.

Guam, Saipan, and even Hawaii are the same way. If you want to find Korean restaurants, they're there. Go ahead and patronize them as necessary, but open your eyes (just a little bit) and try some local chow. You can always buy Shin Ramyon and eat it at the hotel if you're jonesing for some hometown food.