Korea’s `Sandwiched’ Dilemma
By John Smith
I am a daily reader of The Korea Times and have lived in Korea for a couple of years. I have learned greatly with my experiences during my stay and hope to visit Korea once again in the near future.
As I have read many articles about Korea trying to become one of the world's leading countries or Seoul as a ``World Design Capital,'' it is great to see how optimistic people are in enhancing Korea's brand in the world.
But one article that I read recently was about Korea's tourism industry. Many are very pessimistic of this and say that Korea doesn't have a bright future in the field.
What is the reason for being so pessimistic about Korea's tourism industry if there is all this optimism of Korea as an economic powerhouse or the city of Seoul as the ``World Design Capital?''
During my stay in Korea in the past, I have had so many things to experience. I've traveled around the country, been to beaches, traditional Buddhist temples, museums, ancient tombs, the truce village of Panmunjeom, etc.
Not only have I traveled the country, but learned to cook Korean cuisine as well. The public transportation in Korea is very accessible, which makes it even easier to travel around the country. I'm still in my twenties and enjoy how lively the cities are in Korea.
As we all know that the Korean Peninsula is ``sandwiched'' between China and Japan, this makes Korea face major challenges, not only politically and economically, but culturally as well.
I'm not an expert in anthropology, but Korea's geographic location may be the reason why the Korean character is very close or very tightly knit. This is good, but can be very negative as well.
As there are several Korean communities around the world; I would like to share my observations with the Korean community. In Los Angeles U.S.A. has a very large Koreatown where there are shops, department stores, supermarkets, etc.
The community there is very tightly knit as well. This makes it hard for people to know about Korea or the culture. Most Korean restaurants are located where the community is.
If a tourist is to pay a visit to the City Walk at Universal Studios or Downtown Disney at Disneyland, one can find Chinese, Thai, and Japanese restaurants, but not one Korean restaurant in sight! The same can be said for eateries that are in local shopping malls around the country.
If Korea really wants to be an economic powerhouse or to have Seoul as one of the top cities by 2010, Koreans must change their mindset to open up more and share their culture with the world.
The world needs positive exposure from the Korean Peninsula.
Korea has so much to offer, it is uniquely different with its neighboring countries, which for sure can draw a crowd, but is not being used at all.
I see Korea trying to strengthen its economy by its consumer electronic products and automobiles; this strategy is great, but not the only way to strengthen one's economy.
Tourism is a major industry that can bring in large amounts of capital into a country and should not be neglected. It is not too late for Korea to push for a major campaign in marketing itself to the world.
John Smith is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and studying environmental health at the University of Minnesota. He lived in Korea for about two years.