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wylies99

Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:17 am Post subject: Students Take Advantage of City Tour to Learn English |
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08-24-2008 17:15
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/08/117_29872.html
Students Take Advantage of City Tour to Learn English
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Jeon Young-ae, 37, together with her daughter stepped onto a city tour bus arranged for foreign tourists by a Seoul-based tourism agency over the weekend. Jeon took the bus not for sightseeing but to give her daughter an opportunity to learn English.
``It�s the fourth time my daughter has taken the city tour. I am glad when I see my daughter understand what the tour guides say in English and talk to foreigners without fear during the tour,�� Jeon said.
Jeon is taking advantage of a program provided by Cosmojin Tour, a travel agency. Cosmojin says it sees a growing number of parents with their children participate in the tour program. ``More than 100 Korean children boarded our tour bus during this summer vacation. Students can learn how to introduce Korean cultural heritages in English and they can naturally mingle with foreigners,�� said Jung Myung-jin, the company president.
Parents have to pay 40,000-50,000 won ($40-50) for a half-day tour and 80,000 won for an all-day tour, with school children getting a 10-30 percent discount. The tour usually includes Seoul Tower, Changdeok Palace, Namsangol Hanok Village and the Amethyst or Ginseng center.
``We will soon launch official programs that enable Korean students to learn English together with foreign tourists. Of course, we will restrict the number of Koreans in the program so that foreigners are not annoyed,�� Jung added.
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wylies99

Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:20 am Post subject: |
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Go ahead and take the bus trip. You'll be surrounded by Korean kids expecting you to teach.  |
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moosehead

Joined: 05 May 2007
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:30 am Post subject: |
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honestly - would any other country be so blatantly intrusive towards non-Korean tourists ? not to mention out and out dishonest - ??
shameful, absolutely shameful.
why not just organize a volunteer visitor program of some sort and let the kids get involved with that? guess that might involve the tourists actually speaking to the children and asking THEM questions the kids aren't ready to respond with !! instead of unknowing tourists being asked inane questions about where are they from ad nauseum !!!
Korea Scheming  |
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wylies99

Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:34 am Post subject: |
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moosehead wrote: |
honestly - would any other country be so blatantly intrusive towards non-Korean tourists ? not to mention out and out dishonest - ??
shameful, absolutely shameful.
why not just organize a volunteer visitor program of some sort and let the kids get involved with that? guess that might involve the tourists actually speaking to the children and asking THEM questions the kids aren't ready to respond with !! instead of unknowing tourists being asked inane questions about where are they from ad nauseum !!!
Korea Scheming  |
I agree. This is a widely advertised tour that is now being used to swindle parents out of money. |
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Lekker

Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:59 am Post subject: Re: Students Take Advantage of City Tour to Learn English |
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wylies99 wrote: |
Of course, we will restrict the number of Koreans in the program so that foreigners are not annoyed,�� Jung added.
[email protected] |
So what would the ratio per bus be, between Korean students and tourists? |
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endo

Joined: 14 Mar 2004 Location: Seoul...my home
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 2:14 am Post subject: |
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I was standing in line at Lotte World last summer and a Korean grandfather was there with his two grandchildren.
He kept encouraging his kids to speak English with me. fine I'll play along for a while.
Then when we got on the ride the grandfather asked to be seated with me on the same ride.
.....
He then attempted to encourage his kids to keep practicing with me. I told him "no thanks" in Korean and he gave me this angry look.
Okay, I teach kids five days a week and try to aviod them on my weekends. I will still be polite for a few minutes, but after 40 minutes in line and another 10 minutes on the ride I just didn't feel like talking anymore. |
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JongnoGuru

Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 2:18 am Post subject: Re: Students Take Advantage of City Tour to Learn English |
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Lekker wrote: |
wylies99 wrote: |
Of course, we will restrict the number of Koreans in the program so that foreigners are not annoyed,�� Jung added.
[email protected] |
So what would the ratio per bus be, between Korean students and tourists? |
I'd suggest no more than 10 Korean kids per whitey, ideally. K-mommies will appreciate the effort to minimise class sizes. |
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wylies99

Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 2:44 am Post subject: |
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If the bus company wants to do this, they should hire full-time dancing monkeys. The "tourists" aren't there to work.
BTW, it's a good thing that this article was printed. Now we know to avoid that bus tour of Seoul so we don't have to teach. |
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samd
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:16 am Post subject: |
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A 10 year old followed my friend and me around the war museum last weekend, trying to explain all the exhibits and dioramas in hagwon English while his mother wacthed with a look half sorry half proud of the guy. I didn't have the heart to tell him to get lost, and finally he was towed off. Peace at last. |
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Ginormousaurus

Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Location: 700 Ft. Pulpit
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:26 am Post subject: |
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I doubt too many genuine tourists would be annoyed by Korean kids trying to converse with them. I'm sure many might find it cute. And since many of the tourists aren't English teachers here, they probably wouldn't feel like they are being used for free English. |
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Whirlwind
Joined: 03 Jun 2005
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:12 am Post subject: |
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I've tried the "Russian saram" as well. But the kids will still speak to me as if I'm fluent in Korean or Konglish. It truly baffles them that a Russian wouldn't know English. They can't get their heads around the fact that not everyone speaks English. |
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wylies99

Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject: |
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Ginormousaurus wrote: |
I doubt too many genuine tourists would be annoyed by Korean kids trying to converse with them. I'm sure many might find it cute. And since many of the tourists aren't English teachers here, they probably wouldn't feel like they are being used for free English. |
If it's a couple of kids, maybe.
But this tour is being sold to parents as "English-ee edutainment." There will be a sea of kids taking this tour and the mothers will EXPECT you to converse with their kids. |
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Pooty
Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Location: Ela stin agalia mou
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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This is bad news. Wife and I were planning on taking one of the city bus tours when the weather cools off a bit. It's a great way to see all the sights without having to take subways and do a lot of walking. I think it's shameful that parents actually encourage their kids to talk to strangers just to practice their English. I might look into one of the USO tours instead. But if I do take one of the city bus tours and I run into one of these groups, I'll make sure my wife tells them off in a not so nice way.  |
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Yu_Bum_suk

Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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This would have a much wider effect if Korean English teachers were encouraged to take the tour to learn English. |
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ajgeddes

Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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Ginormousaurus wrote: |
I doubt too many genuine tourists would be annoyed by Korean kids trying to converse with them. I'm sure many might find it cute. And since many of the tourists aren't English teachers here, they probably wouldn't feel like they are being used for free English. |
I think you are right here. Besides, if someone doesn't want to talk to some kid, they don't have to.
In every country I go to, people come up to me and speak English to me. HOW RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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