ID :
147318
Mon, 10/25/2010 - 09:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/147318
The shortlink copeid
Chinese tourists change course to S. Korea after row with Japan
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- A group of Chinese tourists lined up at a bustling
shopping district in downtown Seoul, chatting and laughing as their flag-waving
guide hollered instructions just before they were to try their hand at making the
famous Korean side dish kimchi.
Such a scene isn't out of the ordinary in this city -- in fact, it's becoming all
the more common in South Korea as the number of tourists from this neighboring
country visibly increases.
"We came here because of the Korean Wave," said Xiao Yongqiang, one of two
Chinese guides leading the group of 17 tourists from Guangdong on China's
southern coast. "We want to see, experience and buy everything that's in Korean
dramas."
The popularity of Korean pop culture and entertainment, called the Korean Wave,
and a strong yuan have been traditionally cited as a major magnet for Chinese
tourists, but now there seems to be a new political factor in play.
Some Chinese tourists have canceled trips to Japan and instead headed to Korea
since a diplomatic row in September inflamed anti-Japanese sentiment in China.
In that incident, Japan arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain after his vessel
collided with Japanese coast guard boats in waters around an island group that
both countries claim as their territory. Mass rallies and a boycott of Japanese
goods ensued in China.
"We have yet to receive statistics for September, but I heard tourism to Japan
has dropped significantly," said Choi Hyo-jung, a publicity official at the China
National Tourism Administration's branch in Seoul. "Korea may have surpassed
Japan in terms of tourist arrivals from China."
The number of visitors from China has grown at a surprising pace in South Korea
in recent years -- as much as 45 percent year-on-year during the January-August
period -- prompting Korea's tourism industry to shift its marketing focus from
Japan to the world's most populous country.
Stores in shopping districts like Myeongdong have added Chinese-speaking staff,
their headquarters are using Korean celebrities popular across China and
Southeast Asia in advertisements, and glitzy duty-free stores are dropping
European luxury brands to give more space to Korean cosmetics chains that are
less expensive but more popular in the Asian region.
South Korea ranks among the top five destinations for outbound Chinese tourists,
only next to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Japan, according to statistics from the
China National Tourism Administration.
Nature Republic is one such cosmetics brand riding on made-in-Korea appeal in
China. Its latest promotion pitch features members of the now-dissolved Korean
boy band TVXQ, whose popularity is still invincible across China and Southeast
Asia.
"Honestly, TVXQ wouldn't be our favorite cosmetics spokesmodels for our brand's
stores in general, because they are male and have too strong of an image," said
Min Kwan-hong, a store manager in Myeongdong, where cosmetics chains say foreign
customers account for 70 to 90 percent of their entire sales.
"But in Myeongdong, it works. We've seen a 50 percent growth in sales since TVXQ
became our models last month."
Some 1.34 million tourists from China visited South Korea last year, compared to
1.07 million in 2007 and 710,000 in 2005. The growth rate has been even steeper
this year, with 1.26 million already counted as of August.
And Chinese visitors spend more than Japanese while in Korea, US$1,547 on average
compared to $1,084, according to data from the official Korea Tourism
Organization. To cash in on the Chinese influx, the tourism agency plans to issue
a credit card called the Korea Travel Card specifically designed for high-income
Chinese in December. The number of stores in Korea accepting Chinese credit cards
has more than tripled over the past year.
Small-sized stores are also bracing for China's economic emergence. The Seoul
Chamber of Commerce, an association of businesses operating in the capital,
opened a free Chinese language course in September for merchants working in
Myeongdong and Namdaemun and Dongdaemun markets, hoping to hone their
communication skills.
"Most of our customers are still Japanese, but I've been noticing a visible
increase in Chinese customers," said Kim Ye-sook, a proprietor of an eyeglasses
store at Namdaemun Market who was one of about 30 people attending the class held
three times a week. "I can see the tide could change in three to four years, and
I am preparing myself."
China's growing profile has driven Korea to ease visa regulations for Chinese
tourists and rush to resolve the shortage of accommodations.
Yet, recent events are still tainting South Koreans' image of its neighboring
country. In one such case, police say, a group of 44 Chinese posing as tourists
attempted to immigrate illegally earlier this month after entering Korea's
southern resort island of Jeju. They apparently sought jobs here.
Park Sung-joon, who specializes in Korea-China relations at the University of
Incheon, said the cultural affinity and geographical proximity between the two
countries can be a double-edged sword for bilateral relations. Apart from the
Korean Wave fervor in China, there is anti-Korean sentiment simmering on Chinese
Web sites, a reaction to Koreans' double standards toward Chinese people, he
noted.
"There's more positive sentiment than negative toward Korea, but those who've been living here, like Chinese students, seem to have anti-Korean sentiment as well.
Chinese are foreigners, but we Koreans tend to not treat them as such, but rather like people from some different province," Park said.
shopping district in downtown Seoul, chatting and laughing as their flag-waving
guide hollered instructions just before they were to try their hand at making the
famous Korean side dish kimchi.
Such a scene isn't out of the ordinary in this city -- in fact, it's becoming all
the more common in South Korea as the number of tourists from this neighboring
country visibly increases.
"We came here because of the Korean Wave," said Xiao Yongqiang, one of two
Chinese guides leading the group of 17 tourists from Guangdong on China's
southern coast. "We want to see, experience and buy everything that's in Korean
dramas."
The popularity of Korean pop culture and entertainment, called the Korean Wave,
and a strong yuan have been traditionally cited as a major magnet for Chinese
tourists, but now there seems to be a new political factor in play.
Some Chinese tourists have canceled trips to Japan and instead headed to Korea
since a diplomatic row in September inflamed anti-Japanese sentiment in China.
In that incident, Japan arrested a Chinese fishing boat captain after his vessel
collided with Japanese coast guard boats in waters around an island group that
both countries claim as their territory. Mass rallies and a boycott of Japanese
goods ensued in China.
"We have yet to receive statistics for September, but I heard tourism to Japan
has dropped significantly," said Choi Hyo-jung, a publicity official at the China
National Tourism Administration's branch in Seoul. "Korea may have surpassed
Japan in terms of tourist arrivals from China."
The number of visitors from China has grown at a surprising pace in South Korea
in recent years -- as much as 45 percent year-on-year during the January-August
period -- prompting Korea's tourism industry to shift its marketing focus from
Japan to the world's most populous country.
Stores in shopping districts like Myeongdong have added Chinese-speaking staff,
their headquarters are using Korean celebrities popular across China and
Southeast Asia in advertisements, and glitzy duty-free stores are dropping
European luxury brands to give more space to Korean cosmetics chains that are
less expensive but more popular in the Asian region.
South Korea ranks among the top five destinations for outbound Chinese tourists,
only next to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Japan, according to statistics from the
China National Tourism Administration.
Nature Republic is one such cosmetics brand riding on made-in-Korea appeal in
China. Its latest promotion pitch features members of the now-dissolved Korean
boy band TVXQ, whose popularity is still invincible across China and Southeast
Asia.
"Honestly, TVXQ wouldn't be our favorite cosmetics spokesmodels for our brand's
stores in general, because they are male and have too strong of an image," said
Min Kwan-hong, a store manager in Myeongdong, where cosmetics chains say foreign
customers account for 70 to 90 percent of their entire sales.
"But in Myeongdong, it works. We've seen a 50 percent growth in sales since TVXQ
became our models last month."
Some 1.34 million tourists from China visited South Korea last year, compared to
1.07 million in 2007 and 710,000 in 2005. The growth rate has been even steeper
this year, with 1.26 million already counted as of August.
And Chinese visitors spend more than Japanese while in Korea, US$1,547 on average
compared to $1,084, according to data from the official Korea Tourism
Organization. To cash in on the Chinese influx, the tourism agency plans to issue
a credit card called the Korea Travel Card specifically designed for high-income
Chinese in December. The number of stores in Korea accepting Chinese credit cards
has more than tripled over the past year.
Small-sized stores are also bracing for China's economic emergence. The Seoul
Chamber of Commerce, an association of businesses operating in the capital,
opened a free Chinese language course in September for merchants working in
Myeongdong and Namdaemun and Dongdaemun markets, hoping to hone their
communication skills.
"Most of our customers are still Japanese, but I've been noticing a visible
increase in Chinese customers," said Kim Ye-sook, a proprietor of an eyeglasses
store at Namdaemun Market who was one of about 30 people attending the class held
three times a week. "I can see the tide could change in three to four years, and
I am preparing myself."
China's growing profile has driven Korea to ease visa regulations for Chinese
tourists and rush to resolve the shortage of accommodations.
Yet, recent events are still tainting South Koreans' image of its neighboring
country. In one such case, police say, a group of 44 Chinese posing as tourists
attempted to immigrate illegally earlier this month after entering Korea's
southern resort island of Jeju. They apparently sought jobs here.
Park Sung-joon, who specializes in Korea-China relations at the University of
Incheon, said the cultural affinity and geographical proximity between the two
countries can be a double-edged sword for bilateral relations. Apart from the
Korean Wave fervor in China, there is anti-Korean sentiment simmering on Chinese
Web sites, a reaction to Koreans' double standards toward Chinese people, he
noted.
"There's more positive sentiment than negative toward Korea, but those who've been living here, like Chinese students, seem to have anti-Korean sentiment as well.
Chinese are foreigners, but we Koreans tend to not treat them as such, but rather like people from some different province," Park said.
