Spotting the ‘Disney’:

Theming -

One very good representative for theming in Korea would be heir theme park, Everland. Everland in Korea is themed by creating a sense of fantasy and through the usage of the various cartoon characters found everywhere, such as the cartoon characters from Disneyland, etc. Inside the theme park, there are themed gift shops as well as themed restaurants. They even have 12 themed restaurants working together to reproduce a European street setting. One of their themed restaurants is Holland Village

Hybrid consumption –

Inside the Everland resort is Everland (theme park), Glen Ross Golf Club, Hoam Art Museum, etc. It is no longer going to the theme park alone. It is packaged with a resort, golf club and museum. And it becomes difficult to distinguish the experience from the theme park and the experience from the resort. This is a very good opportunity for the organization to maximise its profit as having everything under one roof, spare the consumers from the inconvenience of having to travel around to perhaps have a meal and to have fun at the theme parks.

Merchandising – 

A common example of merchandising in Korea would be their Hanbok which is sold as souvenirs to tourists. Hanbok is a traditional Korean dress that is worn as semi-formal or formal wear during traditional festivals and celebrations.

Performative Labour –

Frontline staffs are required to be at all smiles as it is a requirement for working in a theme park.

Impact of Tourism on South Korea:

In 2007, 6.4 million foreign tourists visited South Korea, making it the 36th most visited country in the world and this number is expected to exceed 8.5 million in end of 2010. With the increase in arrivals, I believe that there will in an increase in tourism receipts. And this will bring about economic growth for Korea. This will further improve the standard of living of Koreans.


Tourism also helped increase awareness on the importance of preserving Buddhism in Korea. With the Temple Stay Programme, the tourism board of Korea can promote this programme not only to foreigners but also promote domestically. Temple Stay can be one of sustainable tourism, keeping three principles in cultural tourism development: environmentally-sound, socio-culturally identifiable, and economically viable. As a result, more people can understand and embrace the culture of Buddhism in Korea and this culture can be preserve and pass to the further generation. With the increase in visitors to the Temple Stay, this cans also help drive the Korea’s economy. This is a win-win situation for both the economy and the culture of Korea.


However, I do find that the disneyization will affect the culture of Korean. With the influx of foreign cultures and the accessibility to Internet to learn about other cultures, this may cause culture dilution to Korea if it is not well-managed. There has been an increase in numbers of student learning foreign language like English. Some parent even had to send their young child abroad in order to let the child has a better ability of English. This will cause the loss of identity for the child as a Korean. As he/she is taught the westerner’s style of living from young and it will be tough to change his/her mindset.


In conclusion, is tourism beneficial? It brought about not only negative impacts. Tourism also brings about positive impacts like the increase in awareness in the importance of preserving culture and traditions, economy improvement. So, it wasn’t that bad after all.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/63/42040158.pdf

What is the country known for?

South Korea is known for its unique Korean pop culture and of course Korea’s best known food, Kimchi. 

Heard of 2PM, 2AM, SNSD, Super Junior, Wonder Girls or 2NE1? I am sure you will hear one of these names if you had read or watched any recent entertainment news. These are the few famous Korean groups that were introduced to the music industry recently. They are the representatives of Korean Pop. Korean Pop is also known as K-Pop. It is a musical genre consisting of electronic, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B music. In addition to music, K-pop has grown into a popular subculture among teenagers and young adults throughout almost the entire of Asia, resulting in widespread interest in the fashion and style of top Korean idol groups and singers.

K-pop is slowly gaining influence in the various foreign markets outside of Asia, most notably in the United States, Canada and Australia. For example, in 2010, solo artist Taeyang and girl group 2NE1 began topping various music charts throughout the United States and Canada with the release of various albums and hit songs. Korean artists are also working with artist all over the world in hoping to globalize this genre.

Below is a music video of one of the Korea’s most popular girl group, SNSD, with their new song Hoot!

 

Next, this is a short video on the K-Pop Night which was held in Singapore around 2 months ago:

 Next, I believe one of the first things that come to people’s mind when talked about Korea will definitely be Kimchi, one of the world’s healthiest foods. The Koreans serve kimchi at almost every meal! It can be served as a side dish as well as being the main ingredient for many popular Korean cuisines.

Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean dish, made of vegetables with varied seasonings. However, Kimchi may also refer to unfermented vegetable dishes. There are many different varieties of kimchi but the main ingredients to make it are cucumber, napa cabbage, reddish and green onions.

Kimchi has been scientifically proven to be a highly nutritious and recommended as a future food by many nutritionists all around the globe. So the export of kimchi to foreign countries is rapidly increasing. It has gains much popularity not only in Korea, but also in various countries like in America, Japan and even Singapore!

Types of Leisure Programmes (E.g. festivals, events, sports, other recreation…)

Taekwondo as a martial art is popular with people of both genders and of many ages.

Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's power.

A taekwondo student typically wears a uniform often white but sometimes black (or other colors), with a belt tied around the waist. The colour of the belt represents the ranks of the student. Taekwondo, along with many other martial arts, is traditionally performed in bare feet.

Taekwondo is also widely recognized through international sports events and cultural exchanges. For example: the Olympic Games.

Another leisure sport that the Koreans enjoyed is soccer! Ever since the Korean soccer team advanced to the semi-finals, ranked as # 4th in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan, which was a remarkable success because Korea was the only Asian team that advanced to the semi-finals in 2002. And because of that reason, soccer has become much more popular.

Though eight years has passed, Koreans are still in the soccer fever. This can be seen at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa where the Korean stand together to cheer for their team. 

A music video by Super Junior ( a K-Pop boy group) was made to cheer upon the Korean team.

Their mode of education

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is responsible for education of South Koreans. The following schooling system of South Korea:

1)    Elementary school provides 6 years of compulsory elementary education to children between the ages of 6 and 11.

2)     Middle school offers 3 years of lower secondary education to those aged 12 to 14. (Lower Secondary)

3)    High school offers 3 years of higher secondary education to students aged 15 to 17. (Higher Secondary)

4)     High school graduates can choose to apply to a junior college or a college or university to receive higher education.

Elementary School -> Middle/ High School-> College/ Start working

Their languages

Korean is the official language of Korea.

Hangul is the native alphabet of the Korean language. The Korean language was developed at the request of King Sejong the Great. It consists of 10 vowels and 14 consonants that are combined to form syllabic groupings. 

The Korean language is spoken by more than 65 million people living on the peninsula and its outlying islands as well as 5.5 million Koreans living in other parts of the world.  The fact that all Koreans speak and write the same language has been a crucial factor in their strong national identity.  Modern Korea has several different dialects including the standard one used in Seoul and central areas, but they are similar enough that speakers/listeners do not have trouble understanding each other.

Their indigenous groups

Korea is a rather homogenous country as compared to other countries in the world.

It consists of mostly Koreans and a minority group of Chinese. 

The South Korean, however, have different religions. Majority (46%) of the South Korean population have no preference in their religion. Of the religious population, 29.2% are Christian, 22.8% are Buddhist, and the rest adheres to various new religious movements including Jeungism, Daesunism, Cheondoism, Taoism, Confucianism and Won Buddhism. Plus, a small minority of Koreans also professes Islam.

The traditions of the place: New Year

 Happy New Year in Korean: Saehae Bok Mani Badseiyo.

During New Year period, family members get together to celebrate this occasion. Korean values kinship very much, hence, this is also a day where they commemorate their ancestors of the previous four generations.

On New Year day itself, everybody dresses up in their Hanbok (Korean traditional costume) after “cleansing” their body. Together, the extended family performs charye (a ceremony to commemorate their ancestors). After which, the children will greet their grandparents, parents, followed my aunty and uncle by bowing. The elders would give the younger generation money and gifts.

The video below is a guide for the steps on bowing:

After the ceremony, they will serve the traditional Korean food ddeokguk, a rice dumpling soup and traditional drinks such as shikhye(rice punch)and sujunggwa(a spicy concoction of persimmon and cinnamon).

 

ddeokguk

shikhye

 

Sujunggwa