Rude Korean tourists: Part 2
If you are a regular reader of this site, you might have read my “Rude Korean Tourists!!” post a while back. The post was a summary/translation of a Japanese news program’s somewhat harsh depiction of the behavior of Korean tourists who visit the Japanese island of Tsushima. Since I posted that video link, a few other Japanese networks have reported on Tsushima, some of them in a similarly “anti-Korean” way, and others in a more “neutral” way. Today I will summarize a recent Tsushima-related news report that was slightly nicer to the Korean tourists.
The report starts off with a brief explanation of the recent increase in Korean tourists visiting the island. From less than 10,000 in 2001 to almost 40,000 last year.
The camera crew decides to follow some Korean tourists and see what they are up to. They are looking for a place to eat. This woman complains that the food this restaurant is much too expensive (About $9 for an udon lunch). Eventually they find a much better place, and they proceed to have a toast with tea cups in the entrance to the restaurant. This is somewhat rude in Japan, and the narrator states that it must be a difference in the two cultures.
Inside the restaurant, the Japanese owner tells the reporter about his feelings on the Korean tourists. At first he was very surprised that the Koreans would bring huge amounts of kimchi into his restaurant and eat it alongside his food. But it seems he is now used to this rude behavior.
The reporter asks this Korean guy “How does it taste?”
He grabs the microphone out of the reporters hand to answer the question! Oh my! But he gives a friendly answer about how he likes it and he thinks Tsushima is pretty good, so it the narrator makes a kind remark about the friendly old Korean guy.
The next topic: 100 yen stores! The Korean tour buses stop at the island’s 100 yen store (dollar store) and buy all kinds of cheap stuff! This man bought some underwear and socks!
The report also mentions the fact that many roadsigns and buildings have Korean translations.
Now for the negatives. Some Korean tour guides take groups to the local history museum and say false or anti-Japanese things to the tour groups. This man is leading tourists in a chant about how “Dokdo is ours!”, referring to the dispute over the Liancourt Rocks.
It’s one thing to say that about a disputed territory like the Liancourt Rocks. This guy takes it one step further by making the tourists chant “Tsushima is ours!” as well. What a polite thing for tourists to do!
The report then goes into a description of the illegal fishing that Korean tourists engage in. (mentioned in my Rude Koreans post)
The report closes by discussing the problem of Korean trash that is polluting Tsushima’s beaches.
As you can see, the trash that drifts ashore has Korean writing all over it. It can’t possibly be coming from Japan.
But Korean students have organized a small movement to work with Japanese students and clean up Tsushima’s beaches (as mentioned in a previous post on this blog). The news report ends on this positive note.
Please watch the full report here (in Japanese).
Neutral reporting, or anti-Korean racism? You decide.
| Related Posts: |
|
“I hate the way some foreigners behave!” |
Full RSS Feed
Before you blame anything toward Koreans. Take a step behind. Look at Geographical and Historical factor. Tsushima is closer to Korean peninsula. Korean do contribute to Tsushima island economy for example ( Tsushima people rather shop in Pusan than any other cities in Japan. Why? Tshushim is closer to Korea rather than Japan. ) The main tourist that visits, eats, and shops atTsushima island are Koreans. Historically, Yes Tsushima Island belonged to Korean peninsual. ( Thier is enough information and evidence etc).
Before you point the gun tigger your gun look at were your fingers are pointing. Its pointing at you!!! ( Korean proverb)
by BostonKing
BostonKing:
Are you saying that the Korean tourists in question have a right to be rude or violate the law simply because Tsushima is geographically closer to Korea than it is to Japan?
Also, Tsushima has been Japanese since at least the 6th century. It seems that the fact that Tsushima has been considered a Japanese province for 1400 years is enough to justify Japan’s territorial claim to the island. Get a grip on reality.
Koreans tourist violate law??
1) Koreans visit Tsushima legally.
2) James, read Tsushima history at Wikipedia. Also read Tsushima dialect. History and geographical location played important role forming Tsushima and Japanese history.
3)Get a grip on reality?? Read history. You will know what reality mate.
Watching Japanese ” Mickey Mouse” show don’t really cut it. Showing small minority of Korean tourist in Tsushima. What does that really show and tell???
STOP LABELLING OR STEREOTYPING KOREANS!!! WE SHOULD START LABELLING AND STEREOTYPING YOU JAMES!!!! WAKE UP AND SMELL A COFFEE!!! LIKE AMERICANS OR JAPANESE AREN’T RUDE??? WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM???
Did I create this report that I have summarized from Japanese TV? Did I write that most or all Korean tourists act like the rude ones in the report? Did I write that the tourists were illegally visiting Tsushima? Did i write there were no rude American tourists or Japanese tourists?
The answer to all these questions is no. However, the news report clearly said that the fishing that certain tourists were engaging in was illegal, so the tourists engaging in it were violating laws.
As for the question of whether Tsushima is Japanese territory, I stand by my previous statements. You’ve written nothing that reasonably justifies otherwise.
But really if you think about it – you say that It has been regarded as Japanese for 1400 years, but who told you that – the Japanese, or someone who was told by a Japanese person? What I mean is the only people who are gonna care or have any claim are the Koreans and Japanese so surely any age-old claims can only really be from them. To be honest I see it being Japanese though otherwise it could get nastier and I don’t think that it’s worth it. However, Great Britain went to war over the Falkland Islands with Argentina – and Britain won even though it is clearly no where near Britain. I am a British and I think that it was a stupid war. Really this is just another thing for Japs and Koreans to fight over. I am half Korean btw.
Dokdo and Tsushima (Daema-do) are politically contentious issues in Korea. In fact one Korean city claims jurisdiction over Tsushima, so it
shouldn’t be surprising that Korean tours show a different perspective.
As for Kimchee, Koreans eat it with every dish. Any restaurant serving
Korean tourists should have good enough sense to offer it. And if they
don’t, of course expect Koreans to bring it with them. The trash on the beach and disrespect for Japanese law is unexcusable – Koreans do the same thing here in Korea – bad habits. I think everyone should have the experience of being a foreigner somewhere for a while – and learn not to be so jingoistic!
It’s true. Koreans do eat kimchee with every meal, often in multiple varieties. Koreans are more straitforward on average, which can be off-putting to the Japanese sense of Tatemae.
I just finished visiting Japan after living in Korea for over a year and there is a huge difference in etiquette. In Korea people do often throw their trash everywhere. While I did notice some litter in Japan there were never these enourmous piles of garbage rotting in the street like you will often see in Korea. In Japan people getting on a subway car will stand aside and allow everyone to exit before getting on and drivers also give the right of way. In Korea walking and driving is just chaotic. Old women will push their way into a packed subway car instead of waiting for it to clear and there are cars constantly running red lights(through crowded crosswalks), parking/driving on the sidewalk, driving in two lanes(or on the wrong side of the street), mopeds almost running you over on the sidewalk, and people constantly bumping into you or cutting in front of you without saying excuse me. Actually, after a year here I’ve only ever heard one person say excuse me and it wash when she was asking for directions. I do know the korean word for excuse me but these people just don’t say anything when they do these things. In Japan people actually make an attempt to obey traffic laws and I was constantly hearing people say excuse me if they would try to get by me. Japanese were very quiet and considerate on the subway but in korea there’s often someone having a very loud conversation whether it’s on their cell phone or in person or even some people just singing at the top of their lungs with no consideration for others. Though Koreans are incredibly rude at an impersonal level they are equally kind and generous in 1 on 1 situations. People will offer you food if they are snacking on some or the taxi drivers will actually stop the meter to check their gps(my japanese driver didnt do this, he even stopped and got out to ask for directions while my fare was just rolling on past $10 for what should have been a 3 min ride)I know the Koreans don’t mean to be rude, that’s just how their society operates. But honestly, after visiting Japan I’m finding Korea unbearable. People spitting everywhere or pissing in the streets or just how unkept everything is. Japan really seemed to exemplify “excellence in all we do” and the contrast to Korea’s apparent “whatever, it’s good enough” attitude is pretty sharp.
Koreans are certainly very nationalistic people, and most don’t own up to their own weaknesses. I find it kind of ridiculous, because it certainly stems from an inferiority complex. As a nation, Korea (when they were united) accomplished little compared to China and Japan, and they really aren’t accomplishing much now either. All they have is what we historians like to call “soft” power. In other words, the Korean Wave. Korean TV dramas became popular sometime in 2002-2003, and since then the country has finally achieved some form of international recognition.
The fact of the matter is, Korea isn’t very industrialized. Yes, big cities like Seoul are, but we are forgetting that for every city like Seoul, there are alot more small farming communities, and how are these people going to learn manners?
However, I argue that this isn’t an excuse. Look at the United States. They have a whole section of area in the middle called the “Midwest,” basically the country’s breadbasket. Filled with small farming communities. I’ve traveled and lived in the Midwest for a number of years, and the people are polite, kind, and helpful.
Could it be that there are people who are assholes everywhere? Assholes who are Korean, assholes who are Japanese, assholes who are Chinese, Polish, Danish, American, Greek, Italian, Brazilian, Israeli?
As a foreign resident of Korea who has travelled widely, including to Japan, I can say with total honesty that Koreans in my experience are some of the kindest, most warmhearted, welcoming people I have ever encountered anywhere in the wide wide world. Are some of them assholes? Sure. Do some of them travel as tourists to other countries and make fools of themselves? Sure. But such statements are true of ANY nationality — all of which have their flaws, foibles, and frustrations; and all of which have their upsides.
Different cultures — even ones next door to one another — do things differently. Japan is known for an extremely high level of politeness and rigid social decorum, which while likewise observed in Korea as a very Confucian nation happens to be a little bit different.
The upshot of such a post is that it reads like hatespeech or agitprop, however you couch it. It seizes on single instances of bad behavior out of a population of what it admitted in the program to be 40,000-some visitors every year, and presents them as universal. This continued enmity between two neighbors whose culture is SO similar is beyond pointless.