How Can Korea Attract Tourists?

By Matt Doyon

Having lived in Korea for just over three years, I've noticed a number of aspects of Korean culture that are very counterproductive to the tourist industry. I would like to propose some suggestions, which may help Korea earn a piece of the lucrative tourism pie.

1) Enough with the slogans already:

Koreans love their slogans, particularly when they are in Konglish. The ``Korea Sparkling" slogan and accompanying ad campaign have become something of a joke among resident foreigners and they have not improved tourism one iota.

Following in the footsteps of the ``Incredible India" and ``Malaysia, truly Asia" campaigns is all fine and good, but these places are huge tourist draws to begin with. Their ad campaigns enhance an image already created by their effective tourist industry.

A flashy slogan and ad campaign may eventually draw in a few more tourists, but ads won't bring them back! To that end, I would suggest instead spending less money on flashy ad campaigns and more on improving training for those involved in the tourist industry, in particular improved English language skills and also cultural sensitivity training.

2) Wei-gook-in:

The oft-heard cry of Korean children as foreigners walk down the streets in Korea. This may not seem like a big deal, however it belies a deeper issue in Korea: a fear of foreigners. Many Koreans feel that anything and anyone different is strange and needs to be pointed out. Most tourists want to feel accepted and welcomed by their host nation, and being gawked at or followed around or laughed at for making an effort at speaking Korean does not make one feel accepted or welcome.

Korea needs to realize that multiculturalism is no longer the exception; it's the norm among the developed nations of the world. Korea needs to learn to be more accepting of other cultures and realize that ``different" does not mean ``bad." As such, I would suggest that Korea needs to improve its immigration laws to allow more foreigners to live permanently in Korea, thus increasing the exposure of Korean people to non-Koreans.

3) What's that smell?:

For a developed nation, many foreigners remark, Korea is remarkably dirty. Everywhere one looks, there is garbage on the ground, in the water and no one seems to care. Drivers throw cigarettes butts out their windows, children throw candy wrappers on the ground and alleyways overflow with waste.

It is, to be frank, disgusting. Tourists don't come to a nation like Korea and expect to see filth ― they want to see clean streets and smell fresh air. If Koreans want to promote ``Korea, sparkling" as their national slogan, then the country had better sparkle! One suggestion I would put forward to help would be to have schoolchildren take one Saturday afternoon a month and clean up all the garbage in their neighborhood. The more garbage on the ground there is, the more time it would take, so this would encourage children to look out for their peers littering and discourage this behavior.

4) We don't need YOUR help:

The final suggestion I would like to make ties the first three points together. Ask for help! Koreans seem to have a very deep-seated fear of asking others for assistance, as they feel it makes them look less capable and they lose face. Asking a foreigner for help, doubly so.

Yet asking those who come to Korea from other nations makes sense in terms of tourism, as tourists ``come" from other countries! Foreigners know what they want in and expect from a tourist destination, and to assume that Koreans want or expect the same things is ludicrous.

Further, asking foreigners for their opinion and actually using that information would make them feel included in the process, that what they think matters. Seeing foreigners as part of the process would help Koreans to see foreigners less as outsiders and more as members of an extended global family.

While I realize I am not an expert on tourism nor in cultural affairs, I have been a tourist in many different countries and have lived in Korea a fair amount of time. I have developed a deep affection for this nation and hope to make it my home for many years to come. As such, I want to see Korea succeed in its bid for increased tourism.

I hope that people from all over the world can come to Korea and experience the same wonderful elements of this ancient country that I have.

However, I worry that far too many people have come here with high hopes and left feeling disappointed. I hope my humble opinions as expressed above help change that.

The writer teaches English in Nam-gu, Ulsan. He can be reached at yoinks@hotmail.com