Chinese Tourists Angered by Koreans" Inhospitality

Home > Culture > Features

print dictionary print

Chinese Tourists Angered by Koreans" Inhospitality

'I have nothing but bad memories of Korea. The food was not to my taste and the frequent attempts to rip me off left another bitter taste in my mouth.'
Many Chinese tourists react to Korean inhospitality this way.
With massive foreign reserves of 140 billion dollars due to China's untiring economic growth, the number of Chinese tourists abroad will reach 100 million by 2020.
From January to June 1999, Korea hosted 143,000 Chinese tourists - a 50 percent increase on the same period in 1998, figures which promise 300,000 Chinese visitors in total by the end of the year.
However, many Chinese complain at complicated entry procedures at the airport and shabby lodgings much inferior to those encountered in Japan or Europe.
They pinpoint unexpected alterations of schedule, excessively hot food and a monotonous program as sources of their grievances.
Official Chiang Cheng-lai (59) said, 'I paid 380 dollars for a three-day tour but all I saw was the Olympic Stadium, Namdaemun Market, Lotte World resort town and Cheju island. Actually, I wanted to enjoy Korean culture and nature more than I did modern constructions.'
A source from the tourist agency retorted, 'One of the reasons for their disatisfaction is that many Chinese expect very cheap programs which is impossible with the level of quality we provide.'
Bong Hwa-shik:trojans@joongang.co.kr
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)