According to a survey by Mastercard, the most favored out-of-country travel destination for Koreans was Japan: 36 percent of Koreans who were planning a travel abroad in the next six months wanted to visit Japan. Australia was next at 28 percent, then the U.S. at 22 percent.
The reverse was true also -- 31 percent of Japanese who were planning a travel abroad in the next six months wanted to visit Korea, the highest among any country.
한국인이 가장 선호하는 해외 여행지는? [Dong-A Ilbo]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I guess when they say "its a thin line between love and hate" is true.
ReplyDeleteProximity explains it all.
ReplyDeleteWhere do most Americans go? I'm pretty sure it isn't to Europe or Asia.
I just got back from four days in Tokyo, booked using Hanatour. I don't think there were any Japanese people on that flight, and the hotel we picked was full of Koreans too.
ReplyDeleteI think along with proximity, it's also about similarity. Beijing and Shanghai are just as close as Tokyo, if not closer. But walking around Beijing, you wouldn't feel as much at home as you would walking around Tokyo.
Question for the Korean, asked in a non-standard venue: has Myeongdong always been full of Japanese, or did Koreans go there too once upon a time?
It's very interesting for me this love-hate relationship...During the last year I "discovered" Korea and I begun to read about the history of the country. There have been so many disputes - to say the least - between the two countries...Those left traces in the collectiv mentality. no doubt. An this is rue for both countries. I would like to visit both of them, at least a part, if possible. But I don't understand...
ReplyDeleteWell, proximity explains some of it, but certainly not all of it perhaps not even most of it. What determines the choices of travelers, from what I understand, is familiarity and image of the country, and not proximity (although familiarity/image and proximity are somewhat linked). That's why more Chinese Tourists went to Japan than South Korea despite the difference in distance (until the recent fishing boat dispute which affected Japan's image and reversed the trend).
ReplyDeleteAlso, with the drastic drop of Mexico's image the last couple years, I really wouldn't be surprised if there were more Americans going to Europe and Asia than Mexico, despite the differences in cost.
This original post does say quite a bit about the current mindset of Koreans and Japanese and how they view the other. Of course, one political or cultural row could and probably would blow the whole thing to smithereens.
These stats are not surprising and reflect long term contacts between the two countries. Despite the mutual animosity and contempt that certain elements in each country hold the other in, the two societies are more alike than different. And no amount of adolescent squabbling over the ownership of bird covered rocks and selective interpretation of increasingly ancient history is going to change the fact that they find each other comfortable and familiar.
ReplyDeleteDouglas,
ReplyDeleteAnd no amount of adolescent squabbling over the ownership of bird covered rocks and selective interpretation of increasingly ancient history is going to change the fact that they find each other comfortable and familiar.
You obviously have not studied Korean or Japanese history. I'm sure you will consider it adolescent squabbling when you expect redress for someone raping your grandmother, forcing her to speak another language, stealing all of your family heirlooms, taking over your home, and then pretending it never happened, etc. One should not speak when one is so ignorant as you obviously are.
Adeel, Myeongdong has always been notoriously full of Japanese people for the last century, at least.
ReplyDeleteitissaid, you gotta improve your tone around these parts. Make your point without being obnoxious. Thanks.
you gotta improve your tone around these parts. Make your point without being obnoxious. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWell, I wasn't trying to be obnoxious, but don't you think he deserved an "obnoxious" response?
No.
ReplyDelete