Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

Just found this in the ABC NEWS website..

Some interesting quotes from the article..

[On the other hand]

[camel96]

1)-Korea is expensive and inaccessable by land so that keeps out the backpackers.
2)-Richer package tourist types usually end up in the more "interesting" neighboring countries like China/Hong Kong and Japan.
3)-Korea markets itself appallingly in foreign countries and comes across as being bland and having few actual tourist destinations. It's really strange. I think the KNTO actually thinks if they advertise "Come here this is a tourist attraction" then people will come to check it out.
There's plenty of really impressive stuff here to attract tourists. It's just marketed really badly. I'm guessing that many people who end up here only do so because they're flying somewhere else on Korean Air or Asiana and decide to stop here for a few days 'cause it's a free stop. Know what I mean...?

[Tiger Beer]

In addition South Korea is 38,175 square miles..

Lets compare it to other places.. the state of Arizona is 114,000 square miles.. wouldn't you rather roam around deserts, cactus, pueblos, canyons, and old gunfighting towns of Arizona that is 3 times the size than visit South Korea?

And if you did go to northeast Asia.. no doubt Japan or China is more attractive and significantly more to see.

Equivalent areas to the size of South Korea: (between 35,000-39,999 square miles)

Eritrea
French Guiana
Iceland
Jordan

Places 10 times the size of Korea (350,000-399,000 square miles)

British Columbia, Canada
Egypt
Tanzania
Venezuela

[Thomas]

Can the beaches and temples attract people? Yes, very much. I especially love the more out of the way West coast beaches like Taecheon and the area near Sosan. The temples and mountains were pretty cool a few times (and horribly boring when you live there and have to go on school trips to them). Korea's public transportation system makes travel pretty easy if you have a basic idea of how to do it (need more consistent signs though...)

What's Korea doing about it? Here in upstate NY I see about 1 or 2 "Korea" ads a day (even on CNN) showing a mix of culture, traditional stuff, businesspeople (yes, even business women), martial arts, and such... really slick ads that make me want to visit! Also, I know there are martial arts tours being put together to go and train/visit/tour in Korea. There are groups from Taekwondo and Hapkido schools offering 10 day all inclusive trips.

I hope tourism becomes more important to Korea... it would klead to a more open attitude and more availability of foreign products. However, I hope Korea catches on to the value of their natural sites and preserves them. I loved the countryside but really didn't care much for the "cookie-cutter" cities.

[Joe Thanks]

If the locals, government and media maintain the xenophobic status quo, while the KNTO continues to have poor overseas advertising and promotion, and spend more money on �visit Korea� adverts IN KOREA than outside of Korea (a fact), and while all of the �tourist spots� are essentially the same (you see three Korean temple you see them all, and Korean �Spartan living� has neither the glamour, hospitality or aesthetic charm of neighboring Japan) � and with Hitler Kim up north: non-business tourism in Korea isn�t going to spike up.

Rabid xenophobia that asserts itself aggressively ala the right wing and left wing nutters � and expensive local electronics in-country (it�s cheaper to buy Korean products OUTSIDE of Korea) also lend themselves to shooting Korea in the foot: en masse.

Japan (rightfully) blows South Korea out of the water in tourism.

Cheers,

Joe

[candu]

Korea does have a lot of fascinating stuff to see, but as another poster mentioned, Korea has done a very poor job of marketing itself. I genuinely believe that much of this has to do with not making the effort to understand what prospective tourists might want to see and do, as opposed to assuming to already know what foreigners are interested in. Tourism deficit is also viewed as just another economic indicator, ignoring the human elements involved.

I remember a few years back when the government assembled dozens of "famous" Koreans, including actors, various artists, sports figures, and even old DJ himself, in order to produce a very expensive commercial supposedly for Korean tourism, to be aired internationally. Sadly, to a foreign viewer overseas, these people hold no meaning, and the time devoted to showing these mystery people singing could have instead been used to show scenes of Haeinsa or other spectacular temples, various palaces, pretty coastline and mountain peaks, or maybe regular Koreans - rural and urban - going about their lives. Instead, the result was a "FUBU" mentality production, more akin to nationalistic m@sturbation than tourism promotion. And you can already guess how many foreigners - here and abroad - were consulted prior to this turkey being aired! (Remind anybody of how Korean romanization is handled at the national level?)

In fairness to Korea, it does seem to be forgotten between China and Japan - though I should point out the "Hermit Kingdom" heritage of yesteryear was self-imposed - and I suspect most people abroad don't really have a clear image of Korea - aside from the DMZ and riot cops - as they might think they have of China or Japan. It is also off the main backpacker circuit, cut off from the rest of Asia by the North Koreans, and not as cheap as most of the continent. However, I feel that good marketing could help to overcome this.

Korea has unfortunately been its own worst enemy. During "Visit Korea 2001", Korea experienced a drop in inbound foreign tourists from 2000. In the late spring and early summer of 2001, Korean anger over Japanese history textbooks, resulted in a number of demonstations - including one by some nationalistic right wingers during which several of them cut off their pinky fingers - and a number of shops in Myeong-dong and Namdaemun Market posting signs in Japanese, refusing service to Japanese. The government - as was the case last year when the middle school girls were killed - did absolutely nothing to ease tensions. Not so mysteriously, tens of thousands of Japanese cancelled their reservations, no doubt feeling insulted and possibly a little afraid of coming to Korea. Only after people cooled down did anybody realize that "Visit Korea 2001" had tanked, as had some other earlier "Visit Korea" years.

Furthermore, a number of Koreans I know claim that Korean language tourism information isn't much better than what is produced for foriegners. I've come to realize that even the highly imperfect "Lonely Planet" series points out the odd hidden gem, off the beaten path variety of attraction, many of which Koreans I know have never even heard of. My point is that the government may not be doing a very good job at promoting tourism to Koreans either, and the fact that outbound tourism is almost double that of inbound tourism may back that up.

I think that the KNTO is getting better. There are more surveys and studies into foreign tourist wants and needs. Translation is gradually improving. A lot of Koreans working in tourism are extremely friendly, helpful, and aware of the problems faced by the tourism industry here. They realize - probably better than anyone - that a lot of these problems are systematic, and that sh*t tends to run down.

Korea will never become a Thailand in tourism, but it could be doing a better job of promoting what it does have. (Then again, Thailand will probably never become a giant in automobiles, ship buiding, or electronics, while it will likely remain somewhat dependent on tourism,)

[Joe Thanks]

[Joe Thanks]

[desultude]

Tiger Beer said:

[indytrucks]

There is no doubt Korea has infinite potential as a tourist destination, but decades of relative insulation means this process will take time.

Transportation is cheap, efficient and relatively easy to use. The country is compact, eliminating marathon bus (unless you're stupid enough to come from Sokcho on a Sunday night) and train rides. Once you get out of the major urban centres, the people are very welcoming and try their best to overcome the overall lack of English around the less visited parts of the country. Having said that, English speaking tourist kiosks and information centres (especially after the World Cup) have sprouted up near all major tourists sites, and some of the staff there really bend over backwards to accomodate tourists.

The arguments that Korea isn't "as interesting" as Japan, China or other parts of northeast Asia is really a matter of preference. Each country in Asia has it's own unique characteristics, and Korea is no different. For example, I found Taiwan to be dull as doornails, but then again Taiwan did not offer what I was looking for. As for the argument that Korea is only accessible by air or ship, and therefore inaccessible to backpackers, is a blessing, not a curse. Thailand, for example, may indeed be the "Land of Smiles", but it is also the land of shams, ripoffs, scams, touts, tourist price gouging and insincerity, not to mention it's nearly impossible to find a quiet, relatively untouristed corner of Thailand these days. Personally, I love the fact I can go "off the beaten track" in Korea (ie. to a mountain or temple site) and have the place practically to myself.

[Cthulhu]

Off all the provinces in Korea I think South Cholla is the worst choice to market to tourists--it's the sourist, surliest, most xenophobic and restless bunch in Korea. I suppose if the tourists are safe in their buses...I think Cheju needs more coverage myself.

[helly]

Who mentioned the PR companies?

I know some of those PR companies who have been involved in tourist marketing and location branding and they are universal in their contempt for the way KNTO approaches this (although they may guarded in saying this publicly). Their proposals and specs were consistently rejected by KNTO and other government officials and the vast majority of policy and decision making retreated in-house. At one point, in the midst of the city-marketing slogan campaign, a PR company brought 100 suggested slogans to the table, narrowed that list down to 3, and then was informed that someone higher up had chosed "Hi-Seoul" which was not even on the initial 100 list.

Cheju-do recently awarded their overseas tourism campaign to a local PR firm that has no native english speakers, no expat, and no local Koreans with overseas experience. Wonder what those advertorials will look like?

By the way, this is my dream job and I would love to go back to the states and figure out how to market Korea globally.

[Seoultrader]

Korea's landscape in itself is beautiful. What fucks it up is Koreans' lack of a sense for aesthetics. No idea of color coordination, littering and just the plain 3rd world approach to construction/design/repair/maintenance.

Long way to go.

[camel96]

You've got a problem with hotels that look like ships being built in the middle of national parks Seoultrader...?