Foreign Tourists in Korea

Green Tea Fields

The number of foreign tourists visiting Korea last month reached 1.02 million, the first time it surpassed the 1 million mark. Tourism officials here forecast the total number of foreign tourists will reach 11 million for the whole year. They attribute the surge to an increase in family visitors to Korea compounded by the effects of marketing that surfs the Korean Wave.

Last year, a total of 9.79 million foreign tourists came to Korea. Japanese accounted for 33.6 percent (3.29 million), and Chinese 22.7 percent (2.22 million). Americans made up just 6.8 percent. But the number of Chinese visitors to Korea has surged and overtook the number of Japanese tourists by 20,000 to reach 320,000 in July.

Last year alone, 65.45 million Chinese traveled abroad, and that is expected to rise to 78.4 million this year. At this rate, the number of Chinese people traveling abroad is expected to rise to 100 million two years from now. This shows just how important it is to attract Chinese tourists. But last year, only 3.4 percent of all Chinese who traveled abroad chose Korea as their destination.

High-tech businesses such as Samsung Electronics could build exhibition halls displaying the latest gadgets for visitors and offering hands-on experience in order to boost interest in Korean-made products. The Yongsan electronics market could be turned into a digital theme park for Chinese tourists, just like Japan's largest electronics shopping mall, Akihabara became a magnet for Korean tourists in Tokyo in the past.

Spring in Seoul

Foreign tourists to France, the world's No. 1 travel destination, totaled 79.5 million last year, generating US$54.5 billion in revenues. The tourism industry is a cash cow.

Source Chosun Ilbo

2 ESL Teachers Have Died while Backpacking Vietnam

Two Korea-based English teachers who were teaching in Ansan have died while backpacking in Vietnam. Cathy Huynh, 26, of Ontario, Canada, and Karin Bowerman, 27, of Illinois, U.S., were visiting the coastal city of Nha Trang during their week-long vacation from teaching in Korea when the two suddenly became ill on July 30, vomiting several times. They went via taxi from their hotel to a nearby military hospital. Due to acute respiratory problems and zero blood pressure levels they died 2 days apart from each other. Cause of death is still not known.

Justin Gallant, a high-school friend of Cathy Huynh, has set up fund-raising website “Bring Cathy Huynh home” with a goal of $40,000 to help with transport and funeral expenses. Created on Aug. 2, the site raised about $16,000.00 from over 300 donors as of Tuesday morning.

It is interesting to note that if a Pakistani citizen dies, the national airlines of Pakistan: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) brings the dead body home FREE of charge  in case there is a direct flight  between the two countries (country where a Pakistani dies and Pakistan). In fact, PIAt is financially one of the weakest air fleets of the world. Moreover, the embassies of Pakistan, world over, are also very helpful in this regard. They take care of all the paper work etc. and even help monetarily through a special fund set up to tackle such cases. I know of this, because during my stay in South Korea and working in the area of migrant workers, I saw the help extended by PIA and Pakistan embassies quite often. On the other hand, Canada is an economically very stable country compared to Pakistan (and so is the United States), it is also a member of OECD. Air Canada is a rich airlines but they do NOT offer any help to the bereaved families or offer support for the transportation of a dead body of their citizens back to their country, despite the fact that there are regular flights of Air Canada between Seoul and various cities in -Canada. This is quite shameful.

Where friends are rallying for fund-raising to transport the dead body of the Canadian teacher, I strongly recommend them to start a movement for "free transport of a dead body" by airlines from Canada, USA and Europe. Isn't it humane and ethically right?

May the two souls rest in peace and may God give strength and courage to their families to bear this loss.


For inquiries, email: bringcathyhome@gmail.com.
For information on making donations, visit www.gofundme.com/z81i8.

For details read HERE and HERE.

Korean Speech Contest: My Korea

Baking Class in Seoul: How to make a Yogurt Cake

Events in Seoul such as baking, cooking, art class, tour of different neighborhoods/markets,  including a speech contest are to be held in August so try to be a part of it. You will learn new things and can network with some interesting folks as well.

A speech contest is to be held under the auspices of Seoul Global Center.

If your Korean language level is intermediate or above then you can take part in this contest. It's topic is "My Korea" - introducing Korea.

Schedule

1. Date: September 21, 2012
2. Place: Yeoksam Global Village(YGV)  Center 3F, Conference room
3. Participants: Foreigners who have an intermediate or above level of Korean 
4. Foreigners residing in Korea
5. Subject: Introducing Korea

 

How to apply

1. Application period: Aug. 1~Aug. 24, 2012
2. Application method: via email at yeoksam@sba.seoul.kr
3. Documents for submission: application and  script for the speech (max. 2 pages A4)
4. * YGV will contact the qualifying individuals after screening submitted scripts.
5. All the participants will get a chance to try out hanbok during the contest and will have a photo time after the contest. 
6. For more info go the the YGV website.
7. Contact:  02-3453-9038~9

Some other events taking place in the month of August at Seorae Global Village Center are follows and visit their website for further details.

1. Ribbon Art Class to be held on 10th August. (fee:5000won) 
2. Tour of  Seodaemun Prison History Hall to take place on August 16 (Have to pay entrance fee:1500won)
3. Baking Class: How to make a yogurt cake on August 8th. (fee:5000won)
4. Traditional Fan Making Class on Aug. 22 (fee:1000won)

Visit the website of Seorare HERE.

Accommodation in Korea: Benikea (Discount Hotels)

Accommodation is a big problem outside Seoul in partcular and all over Korea in general.

To address this issue of lack of quality, affordable- priced hotel rooms, particularly outside Seoul, the Korea International Tourism Organization (KNTO) has launched “Benikea,” standing for “Best Night in Korea.” This new association of hotels brings quality accommodations with franchise level consistency to budget conscious travelers.

The number of foreign tourists in Korea is soaring as Korean movies and singing groups attract fans from Japan and especially China. In 2011, there were 9.79 million inbound visitors compared to 6.45 million in 2007.

Recognizing the demand and business opportunity, foreign hotel operators moved in. US hotel chain Best Western opened Best Western New Seoul in 2001 and subsequently expanded to nine hotels with a total of 1,878 rooms. Ibis, from Europe, opened Ibis Ambassador Seoul in 2003, added more hotels in the capital, and expanded to Suwon and Busan. Toyoko Inn operates six hotels with 1,775 rooms, four in Busan and one each in Seoul and Daejeon. It plans to expand to 60 hotels in Korea in 10 years.

After the Ibis Ambassador Myeongdong (three stars) opened in 2006, the impact of foreign hotel chains in the mid-tier market became highly visible. After three years, the hotel, located in the heart of a major shopping district, had a 96 percent occupancy rate. Moreover, its revenue per available room (RevPAR) was ₩110,000, much higher than local three star hotels (₩66,000). By then, Korean tourism officials were ready to become directly involved in the hotel industry.

The Korea Tourism Organization does not operate the hotels per se. Rather, it provides support services and consulting to help hotels achieve and maintain KTO standards of excellence. Getting under the Benikea umbrella is difficult. Even a high-class hotel has to go through a rigorous checklist to be included. Hotels under the Benikea umbrella are found in all parts of Korea, including Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, Incheon, Daegu, Jeju, and Seoul, making themselves easily accessible to tourists. Two-thirds of the hotels are outside of Seoul, which helps promote tourism in those areas.

 To encourage reservations on the Benikea website, Benikea frequently offers special online deals to Korean and foreign individuals. 

It is a good choice if you are planning to stay in a hotel during a trip to Korea. Price are very economical than usual. Services are good. Consider looking at the BENIKEA website HERE. You can reach them 24 hours by calling at : 82-2-1330 . It is very easy to follow and enjoy your trip to Seoul. 

Source: KTO, Samsung Research Center

Shopping in Islamabad

When I went to the Super Market, Islamabad for souvenir shopping, I heard many shopkeepers speaking fluent Chinese and Japanese besides English. A few foreign friends in Islamabad confessed that foreign language acquisition of Pakistanis is very good despite no schooling in some cases. They also said that Pakistan is by far one of the cheapest country in the world. Services and prices are good however, one must bargain hard.

It is a heaven for carpet lovers, fabric lovers, Buddhist artifacts, antique furniture, semi-precious stones and handicrafts etc to name a few. The variety is huge.

I bought some antique silver jewellery, paper silk scarfs, onyx and papier mache boxes.

 Some of the shops were filled with foreigners buying souvenirs from Pakistan in wood, onyx and marble. Carpets were selling well too. Pakistani carpets are one of the best in the world. I remember, when we were in France and people asked where we have come from? On hearing Pakistan they said: very good carpets from Karachi but then this is pre 9-11 days and a lot has changed.

There is so much stuff and everything is handmade.

Marble carved into vases, tea sets, wine glasses,decoration plates was beautiful.

and some looked like this below:

Brass and metal carvings were intricate

Sindhi emroidery shirt was very pretty

A Kashmiri embroidery long shirts were selling for 500USD each. Very intricate embroidery was done on them.

A Swat's emroidery is below in the form of bag:

I saw a nice, traditional Pakistani casual wear for women. The good news is;the shirt is NOT crazy long. I don't like long shirts where a shalwar (traditional trouser) almost disappears and women gives a look of a malang. We don't have to compete with Vietnam in terms of the length of women's shirts.

and another window fashion in Islamabad

A wall hanging that you can find everywhere.

Camel Milk in Islamabad

  <--Milking camel

Many of us have experienced drinking milk from the cows or the goats but have you tried camel's milk? I have the pleasure of drinking camel's milk in Islamabad and it was an absolute accident.

I saw two women and a kid herding 3 camels - right in front of my house. I took some shots and thought that I must go near them to get some clear/closeup photos. I never saw a camel in Islamabad and this was an awesome experience. I've to confirm that Islamabad is not a dessert or anything close to it. It was my first time ever to see an actual/real camel in this city and hence, the excitement. I asked the woman if she sells milk and she said yes, and added: that's her livelihood. I asked how much for a litre and she said 100 rupees or 1USD or 1000KRW only. I got hooked and bought a liter. I had absolutely no idea what it would taste like but then I just wanted to give it a try and curiosity lead to this experiment.

Camels in front of my house

One of the woman milked the camel right in front of me ( see the video above). I also paid her some more money to allow the baby camel to drink milk from the mummy camel - since these people do NOT allow them to drink. It was a great experience for all of us. 

They were constantly eating, on extreme left is the baby-camel

Camel's milk tasted almost the same as cow's milk. If I had NOT seen her milking the camel I wouldn't have guessed it. The consistency was very watery may be they feed them too much water before going for business or may be for some other reasons. I shared this milk with a cat and her 3 kittens + two dogs. All these animals kept smelling it for a while but then they drank it - it was so funny to see how suspicious they were about the milk. Since the milk was organic and was super fresh and this is absolutely rare. 

I've previously tried horse, buffalo, cow, goat and sheep's milk. Amongst them all, goat's milk was really difficult to drink since it has a strong smell of some sort that I didn't liked. If we look around then we will see that people have been drinking milk from the yak, the water buffalo, the reindeer, the elk and a few other animals. 

Anyhow, a lot has been said and written about the benefits of camel's milk: stories about how good it is for the diabetic patients; how it work wonders against food allergies; it's benefits for children with autism and so on and so forth. I do NOT believe any of this but still I don't care if this is for real or if it is just a hype.  Autism is a genetic disorder and hence, except for God's miracle nothing might work. Diabetes has nothing to do with how much insulin camel's milk has - since we can't inject camel milk directly into the body unlike insulin via injections and no wonder if that would have been the case - countries like the United States where kids at young ages are suffering from it would have O.Ked it through FDA but they have not. 

In Pakistan, we can sell anything with ideas as wild as you can fly by drinking this or you will go to heaven by killing that and so on. In reality, it is NOT that easy. 

Aside all these facts, figures, religion and science, I,  for one, thoroughly enjoyed drinking camel's milk. I felt very full for a long time, may be it was psychological. 

I believe that there is nothing wrong with trying this new idea, if not much, you will just get to know another type of milk. No wonder it has been around for thousands of years and was one of the main sources of food for nomads. In addition, this will surely run the kitchens of these women/ families who were herding them in difficult weather conditions. I will not mind drinking a cup of camel's milk every day. 

On a final note, I wonder what happened to CDA's law on prohibiting animals  like donkeys,  horses and like to roam around on the streets of Islamabad. :-0

South Korea Breaks the First World Record in London Olympics 2012

Im Dong-hyun, who is legally blind, broke his own individual record for 72 arrows and joined Kim Bubmin and Oh Jin-hyek to set a new team mark for 216 arrows - smashing the world record by 18 points.
For more: Read at the Daily mail.

What to eat during Ramadan in South Korea

Yache (야채) Bibimbap

When one travels to Korea for the first time then there are two major concerns, one being the language barrier and the other being food. I'll talk of food since one can NOT do without it.

Particularly, if somebody is traveling to Korea and does not belong to the eat-whatever group of people then life is a little tough. I'll definitely recommend everybody to google Korean Cuisine and then see what works for them before their trip to Korea starts. By the way, I've to say that one has a lot to choose from within Korean cuisine since it is very diverse. Korean Cuisine revolves around vegetables, seafood and meat that comes in combination with a rice bowl or noodles and loads of side dishes called panchun (반찬). If somebody is a vegetarian or is barred to eat a few things due to religious reasons or otherwise, I see no point that they be worrying too much.

I will focus on how to find halal food within Korean cuisine and there is plenty. (However, I'll suggest only a couple of dishes in this post).

1) Bibimbap tops my list.  Bibimbap is a large bowl of rice topped with a rich variety of individually prepared sitr-fried vegetables and tuna or beef etc. and served with seasoned red pepper paste. Some of the very standard ones come with a fried egg on top of it. Order "Yachae (야채:vegetables) bibimbap or Chamchi - dolsot (돌솥 비빔밥) bimimbap (stonebowl tuna bibimbap). It is one of the most representative foods of Korea and has been officially sponsored by the government for the globalization of Korean cuisine. I still remember that our university neighborhood in Sinchon had this dish starting with 2500 won (2USD) and was better than a 10,000 won (10USD) bibimbap in Insadong.

Sundubu Chigae

2) Sundubu Chigae or 순두부찌개 (chigae is also spelled as jjigae) is my second most favorite food. Chigae is a Korean stew and this is roughly called tofu+seafood stew. The type of tofu (dubu) used in this stone pot dish has a texture so smooth it is almost like custard or yogurt. Among the seafood oysters, mussels, clams and shrimp are common ingredients, vegetables include mushrooms, onion, scallions, and kochujang or kochu garu (chili powder). It is pretty spicy and is eaten with plain rice.

Ssang-song kui - grilled mackerel.

3) Ssangsong Kui (생선귀)is grilled fish. Usually, grilled mackerel is served with a variety of side dishes, lettuces and rice. It is a good choice for anybody looking for a halal food in Korea.

Doenjang Chigae

4) Doenjang Chigae or 된장 찌개 (Fermented bean paste stew) is also a good choice but most probably it will take time to  build a taste for it. It is considered as one of the healthiest among the already healthy Korean cuisine. The key ingredients are, as the name suggests, Korean bean paste and tofu. It has an array of vegetables and sometimes anchovies are added while making a broth. It has strong fermented smells hence, if you are NOT good with the fermented food, seafood smells then avoid it.

Phajon

5) Phajeon or Korean Pizza:  It’s fairly inexpensive and generally really well balanced nutritionally. It is completely unpretentious and delicious. It looks like a pizza and we can say that it is a big/ plate sized pakarora or a pancake with kimchi or seafood or vegetables or cheese in it. People love to have it on a rainy day or a really cold day.

Lotteria's shrimp burger: Source

6) Shrimp/Fish burger at Lotteria: Among the fast food chains my favorite is Lotteria. They have a very fantastic shrimp burger set as well as fish and squid burger sets. They are halal, they are 'really' tasty and they are inexpensive. You can also enjoy how the idea of fast food changes from country to country and how some countries have taken it to next/better level, hence try a Korean version of fast foods at Lotteria.By the way, Lotteria's shrimp burger has been around since 1977.

I will give Lotteria "A+"- I'm hooked to them through their spicy squid burger set. They have changed it a little since it used to be super hot but super tasty!

Cartoon of the Day: Ramadan

I like to read "the Indonesian Tifa" often.
This cartoon is from her blog that was further sourced to ESunnah

Buyeo Seodong Lotus Festival, 26-29 July 2012

Buyeo Seodong Lotus Festival is kicking of within a week. Do NOT miss!

DATE: Thursday 26- Sunday 29 July 2012
VENUE: Seodong Park (Gungnamji) area, Buyeo-gun, South Chungcheong Province

DESCRIPTION: This festival celebrates the beautiful lotus flowers and highlights the importance of preserving wild flowers. The festival’s program contains many events related to lotus flowers, making paper lotus flowers and making lotus flower soap are two particularly popular programs with international visitors.

INFO: +82-41-830-2921~2 or for help getting information in English, 041-1330. Festival website has some information in English.

GETTING THERE: From Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal, take an intercity bus to Buyeo. From Buyeo Intercity Bus Terminal, take a taxi to Gungnamji. (5-7min).

BASIC EXPRESSIONS IN KOREAN

If you are traveling to Korea then some of the very basic phrases are below besides Ann-yong Ha-say-yo - 안녕하세요! (Hello)! and Kham-sa-hamnida - 갑사합니다 (Thank you).

Saying Yes or Agreeing to something
Yes – 네 (Ne) or 예 (Ye)  **Note that 네/ 예 is also used to denote that you agree or understand what the other party is saying or just applying that you are there.** Eg. When someone calls out your name, usually Koreans will answer 네/ 예 to state their presence.
Yes, I am – 네 그렇습니다  (Ne, kurosumnida)
Correct! or Right! – 맞아요 (Majayo)
It’s true – 정말이야 (Chongmariya)
Okay – 좋아 or 좋아요 (Joh-a or Joh-ayo) It also means good (I am okay with it)
I am okay -  괜찮아요 (Gwaenchanayo)
Certainly or I know/understand – 알겠어요 (Algesseoyo) or 알겠습니다 (Algesseumnida)
I think so – 그렇게 생각해요 (Kureoke saengakhaeyo)
Yes please (do so) – 그렇세요 (Kureoseyo)
Of course or Absolutely yes – 당연하지 (Dangyeonhaji)

 Saying No or Disagreeing
Saying no is as important to saying yes too!


No – 아니오  (Anio)
No, I am not  – 아니오 틀립니다 (Anio, teurimnida)
Wrong – 틀립니다 (Teurimnida) or 틀려요 (Teuryeoyo)
Never – 절대 아니야 (Cheoldae aniya)
No way! – 말도 안 돼 (Maldo an dwe)
That is not right – 그렇지 않아요 (Kureoji anayo) or  그렇지 않습니다 (Kureoji ansumnida)
I don’t know – 몰라요 (Mollayo)
Of course not – 물론 아니지 (Mullon aniji)

Source:HERE


NOTE:

One very helpful website to learn Korean online is Teacher Rob's Website HERE.

I hope that you already know about the website: Talk to Me in Korean

and 

Korean Class 101

Grievances on Cleanliness in Islamabad: Sanitation Department of CDA

Hardworking Cleaning Staff of CDA's Sanitation Department, Islamabad

During my stay in Islamabad, I made sure that the neighborhood's cleanliness be maintained. Neighbors (especially shopkeepers and their families living in apartments on or under the shops) here are quite comfortable throwing garbage bags in front of others' house and particularly if it is located in front of the green belt. If you have a market (big or small) close-by then it is definitely going to add misery to your life.

Cleaning campaign by CDA

I called Sanitation Department of CDA, Islamabad (Capital Development Authority) over one hundred times, only 7% of the times action was taken in that regard. I wanted them to fine/penalize the residents for throwing garbage all over the place in spite of regular visit of janitors door to door but was told by the Director that CDA does NOT have the power to fine the people. Viola!

Scavenger's horse grazing

How will we ever have the writ of law in a country like Pakistan where people know that they can get away with everything....even killing a person or burning a person alive  to minor stuff like throwing garbage anywhere and justifying it in the name of Allah or whatnot.

Garbage being picked up by CDA: A very wrong method which will make the janitor a lifetime back-ache patient (change the damn trollys)

I called my residential area's supervisor for sanitation and also the cleaning staff. They told me that people are abusive and are even ready to beat them up. I fully understand the situation hence, I gave up on the staff. I called Chairman CDA's office. They were kind enough to listen to me and referred me to Director General Civic Management: Mr. Rawal. I submitted written applications. Actions were taken, cleaning campaign kicked off and lasted until 8:00pm in the evening (I'm thankful to them)  but then this is NOT the solution that may last long-term. Here, I have to say that everything is based on short-term solutions, sadly.

Scavenger woman in search of recyclable garbage in Islamabad

I believe that in this particular case, solution lies in punishing the culprits. This is a time tested rule worldwide. Singapore is the world's cleanest city/country. Why? Are people law abiding or genetically different from the rest? NO. Laws are tough & are enforced. In Singapore, heavy fines, punishments and penalties are something you can NOT escape from and hence, resulted in creating the cleanest city of the world.

Cleanliness is close to Godliness...I guess???
In a Pakistani culture where mosques, madrassas and mullahs have increased a thousand times in the past 10 -15 years, society per se has become less God-fearing and more mullah-fearing. It is very, very unfortunate. Looking deep, Islam's philosophy revolves around self reflection and considering God (Allah ) as supreme. Man - God relationship is direct without any intermediary. This doesn't seems to be the case anymore.

Lal Masjid: Melody Chowk - Islamabbad

The other day, at the end of Jummah (Friday) prayers, the Imam asked on a loud speaker to pray for Mr. XYZ to have children since his wife couldn't bear a child for the past 3 years. I was literally shocked to hear that but what I want to say is: would our Imam also add up to his priorities - the importance of keeping a clean neighborhood, not throwing garbage etc. to his sermons and doa?

Mosques in Pakistan have failed to give back to the society as much as they could. They have surely taken a lot. NOT once in a khutbah have I heard the Imam of a mosque to focus on some meaningful topics to address and there is plenty to talk about. All I heard was: give us money we have to expand the mosque and thus, build yourself a house in heaven....!  Mosque (masjid) is a place where people can really learn a lot - historically, it was a hub of social networking and also a seat of learning. Organizing lectures on basics topics such as cleanliness and good moral values through Imams can be a very effective and good start but that is NOT the agenda of mosques - Jihad is. Family of the Imam and the moazzan of our neighborhood mosque throw garbage on the main street. I witnessed his young daughter doing so. What will he teach  to others?? Charity begins at home...right?

I told the Director General of Civic Management  (CDA), that people are very offended by me. Since, we are in a habit of abusing, torturing, throwing acid at, killing, shooting or burning people alive - I see myself as a potential target when I leave home for morning walks. With this fear in my head, I continued my daily walks and was stubborn to tell people not to throw garbage here and there, if and when I saw that happening. Nevertheless, this is really NOT the cause worth dying for! My close friends and family said to me again and again: come back alive, please. I can NOT guarantee anything but then, life is in God's hand.I know HE is watching over me. I'm NOT asking too much, though.

I hope people realize that clean mind, house, street, neighborhood, city and country are really a blessing and no wonder, Islam has emphasized on it, again and again.
I wish, people could understand this simple yet beautiful idea!

Maybe in Ramadan, we will learn to practice this habit of NOT throwing garbage all over the place except the designated bins. Abide by law, I know that it is hard in a lawless country but still. Technically, it  takes 15 days only to make something your lifelong  habit. I will surely pray for that...


Note:
I'm utterly grateful to CDA management for addressing my grievances but they MUST CHANGE the rules of the game!

How to get to Directorate of Sanitation, CDA, Islamabad: It is across from Lal
Masjid, A huge board will indicate the directions. The sector is G-6/1-3.