Korean Job Discussion Forums

Jarome_Turner · Joined: 10 Sep 2004

Didn't see this one here yet... thought I'd beat RR to the punch....

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200609/kt2006090417391711910.htm

Foreigners� Spending Hits 9-Year Low

By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

Foreign travelers are stingy in Korea while Koreans are extravagant in overseas tours.
According to the Bank of Korea, spending by foreigners hit a 9-year low in Korea while Koreans spent a record high amount of money overseas this year.

The number of incoming foreign travelers stood at 2.96 million in the first half of the year, compared with 2.91 million a year earlier. By contrast, the number of overseas Korean travelers rose to 5.43 million in the first half of the year from 4.78 million in the previous year.

Non-resident foreigners are tightening the purse strings here due to a stronger won against the dollar and poor leisure and educational infrastructure. But South Korean's overseas spending has been increasing rapidly as more people head overseas for travel, medical and educational services.

The central bank said yesterday non-residents' spending in the country decreased 4 percent year-on-year to 1.9 trillion won ($2 billion) in the first half of the year, the lowest level in nine years. In the first six months of 1997, foreigners spent about 1.4 trillion won.

``The appreciation of the won has clearly discouraged foreigners from shopping and spending on other leisure activities here. But a bigger problem is that the domestic travel and educational sectors have not caught up with the global standards to satisfy foreign travelers,'' a BOK official said.

He said the government as well as various tourism industry should make efforts to upgrade the services infrastructure and create an environment in which foreigners can come and have fun in Korea.

On the other hand, an increasing number of South Koreans go abroad and spend a record amount of money on travel and education, widening the service account deficit and offsetting the surplus from exports.

Koreans spent a cumulative $7.7 trillion won in the first six months of the year, up 17.4 percent from a year before. The number of South Koreans that went abroad grew 10.2 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 2.7 million.

A ratio of households' overseas spending to their total consumption hit an all-time high of 4.3 percent in the first half, up 0.5 of a percentage point over a year ago, according to the central bank.

An average household spent some 430,000 won out of every 10 million won consumption in foreign countries.

The bank also said overseas credit card spending by South Koreans hit a record high of $1.19 billion in the second quarter due to a surge in the number of outbound travelers.

The card spending increased 31.6 percent from a year ago, and 14.1 percent from the first quarter. Per capita spending rose 9.6 percent to a record $684.

``The stronger won and the introduction of the five-day workweek system have spurred more Koreas to travel and study overseas. If Koreans continue to spend a large amount of hard-earned cash in other countries rather than here in the coming months, it could further aggravate the already-sluggish domestic consumption,'' the official said.

Overseas spending is expected to set a new high in the third quarter as the number of South Korean travelers overseas soared in August and will likely remain high during Chusok, or Korea's harvest holiday, next month.

ronnie · Joined: 04 Jun 2006 Location: Wisteria Lane

I have spending problems anywhere that i am....home or here. It's a disease.

Junior · Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Location: the eye

I saw that today. I love the slant they gave it- "koreans are generous in foreign countries but foreigners are stingy in korea".

maybe that'll deflect from the real issue: Korea is uncomfortable for foreigners and doesn't provide an environment in which non-Koreans can enjoy themselves.

stumptown · Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:06 pm Post subject:

lastat06513 · Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:15 pm Post subject:

We're not stingy- there is nothing good for us to spend our money on in Korea.....and most teachers are there to SAVE (emphasis on the word SAVE) money.

ronnie · Joined: 04 Jun 2006 Location: Wisteria Lane

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

I dunno, the Koreans on vacation seem to spend a lot of money on korean owned tourist groups, hotels and resturants.

I would have spent more money in Korea if I could. I needed to replace my wardrobe this year, and I bought NOTHING in Korea. I've tried. But the clothes don't look nice on me and I find most of them ugly and poorly made. Throw in the terrible customer service (arggh a foreigner, tell her she's fat so she'll run away) and I'd rather do my shopping online.

Dev · Joined: 18 Apr 2006

Koreans also don't know how to market things.
For example; You can't buy big size clothing anywhere outside of Itaewon in Seoul. Why not? I see a lot of heavy Koreans nowadays. Why not have at least one store in a popular area like Myeongdong?

Japan, is shockingly, but not surprisingly market savy. Last time I was in Tokyo, I bought two watches. I was almost floored by the surprise of the salesman reaching into a large binder to produce English language manuals for the two watches I had bought. I really didn't expect that. Wow!

stumptown · Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:53 pm Post subject:

Also, as was mentioned on another thread, it takes a couple of years of living here to find out where interesting things are. I could hardly be arsed to look at another damn temple or see one of the infiltration tunnels. Wow! A big hole in the ground. I can't even see people going to Jeju and having a good time, because there isn't anyone there (when I went) who can speak a damn bit of English. And, having said that, the service in a lot of restaurants is atrocious because they don't care about you since they have so many other tourists (99% Korean) flocking in in droves.

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

And as a result will it occur to Koreans to hire actual foreigners to help them with their marketing and then actually heed the foreigners' advice? No, of course not.

Here's an idea to start: at a restaurant, bring out the customers' drinks right away; don't wait to bring them out with food. That way you can sell more drinks, not only to foreigners, but perhaps also to Koreans. That way your thirsty customers will also be more eager to come to your restaurant.

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

Jarome_Turner · Joined: 10 Sep 2004

As the article mentions, I'm pretty sure the increase in Korean spending abroad is DIRECTLY linked to the increased percentage of students that are travelling overseas to study. I'm not sure of exact numbers, but I remember reading a while back that there has been some ridiculous increase in the percentage of those choosing to pursue education in other countries.
As for the decrease in foriegner spending here in Korea, I guess that's pretty self-explanitory.

stumptown · Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 1:06 am Post subject:

keithinkorea · Joined: 17 Mar 2004

Relatively, people are likely to spend less if the won is strong. The won is very strong against the dollar and Korea is not a particularly cheap country by Asian standards. Factor in poor customer service in stores (some services are great here but they're not the sort of things that tourists use), mangled marketing, people trying to cheat tourists and you don't have any sort of "tourist hub" to speak of at all.

It is also a pretty daunting-foreigner unfriendly place too for most people to visit. My family had a great time when they were here, but they would have struggled without me helping them out a lot.