South Koreans look down on us, say Chinese tourists
Staff Reporter
2014-02-04
Chinese tourists take photos in tradional Korean dress in Seoul, Sept. 18, 2013. There were nearly 4 million visits to South Korea by Chinese nationals in 2013. (Photo/Xinhua)
Many Chinese nationals claim to have had unpleasant experiences of discrimination when traveling to South Korea and some say they would not visit the country again, according to the China News Service, citing a survey reported in a business newspaper in South Korea.
"My trip to South Korea was my first and also the last time," one tourist said.
Some 25% of Chinese tourists said they had a worse impression of South Korea after visiting and 37% of respondents said they felt local people looked down on them during their trip, according to the poll reported by the AJU Business Daily.
Those who claimed they had experienced an attitude of discrimination in the manner of speech of some Koreans, as well as facial expressions and body language.
Only 10% of those polled felt they had been discriminated against when traveling to other countries.
A female tourist said that when chatting with her friend on the subway in Seoul, she was asked by a local passenger to move to another train. "I could see dislike in their eyes," she said, adding that she only felt welcome when she handed over money for clothes she had bought in Seoul's Dongdaemun Market.
A government poll showed that Chinese travelers gave South Korea an average score of 4.14 out of 5. But experts said this survey focused only on group tours and did not genuinely reflect the experiences of people who travel individually.
Chinese tourists have provided a significant fillip to South Korea's economy, becoming the largest group of foreign tourists in the country's tourism market.
In 2013, there were 3.92 million visits by Chinese nationals to South Korea, accounting for a third of total visits by foreign nationals. Chinese tourists spent US$2,155 per person on average in the country, compared to the overall average of US$1,530 per person for all foreign visitors to the country.
German hotel warns of table manners of Chinese guests
Staff Reporter
2013-07-13
Chinese tourists in Germany. (Internet photo)
A tourism editor published an article in German news magazine Der Spiegel on July 9 in which he described his experience of receiving a "Chinese warning" note from a hotel in Bavaria. The note warned guests to be prepared for the distinctive table manners and eating culture of Chinese tourists, reports the Global Times, an English-language newspaper published by People's Daily.
The editor said he was told he might hear a large group of Chinese tourists eating breakfast between 6:30 and 7:30 am the following morning. The group would most likely eat noisily and burp freely, it said, suggesting that other guests should come down after 8 am if they wanted a quiet breakfast.
The editor said he saw Chinese tourists tapping on buns with a scoop and putting back food they had taken. Their English was hard to understand and they reportedly did not say thank you to servers. "I will be glad to see them leave," the editor overheard a kitchen employee tell a German guest quietly.
The hotel manager told the editor that they receive fewer complaints about Chinese guests if they give guests a note in advance.
The article has drawn wide debate on the internet. "Racism! As a German, I feel embarrassed," said a netizen called Phrasensport, while others agreed that Chinese tourists display bad manners and should try to improve their conduct. Other Chinese visitors in Germany said the hotel is making a big deal of the matter and would be less likely to receive their custom as a result.
Noisy Chinese tourists made to use side door by Taipei city council
Staff Reporter
2013-01-18
The front entrance to the building. (Photo/Luo Yin-chong)
The Taipei city council has forbidden mainland Chinese tourists to enter from the building's front gate when they visit due to instances of bad manners, our sister newspaper Want Daily reports. Chinese tourists now have to enter through a gate at the side of the building.
A number of city councilors said Chinese tourists have been known to make too much noise in the entrance hall, and obstruct the building's official functions when they pose for group photos.
A restaurant owner who has his eatery in the basement of the building said however that Chinese tourists are not excessively noisy, are quite orderly and do not throw their cigarette butts on the ground.
The city council's new rule was soon doing the news on the internet in China, with many netizens saying the tourists should give more thought to their behavior, acceding to the view that their countrymen do have some issues with their manners. Others pointed out that Chinese tourists have not always been treated well in Taiwan, as in the case of a restaurant in the east coast city of Taitung which was found to have served leftovers to mainland diners.
A spokesman for the council said it is good to let Chinese tourists visit a place where they can witness how democracy operates in Taiwan. He said most mainland tourists are amazed at the fact that criticism of government officials is permitted.
