By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Machiko, a Japanese woman who visited Korea, bought a pair of custom-made leather boots during her trip, but they failed to be shipped even after the promised date.
She tried to call the shoe store, and, failing to reach it, contacted the Tourist Complaint Center instead. The center contacted the store, which then apologized for not making the shoes due to a shortage of leather and refunded Machiko.
The case illustrates one of the biggest complaints made by foreign tourists -inconveniences related to shopping.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), most grievances received at the Tourist Complaint Center last year were related to shopping and transportation.
The number of complaints, including those from both international and domestic tourists, increased to 640 last year, compared to 526 in 2008.
Those reported by expatriates soared from 276 cases in 2008 to 468 in 2009.
The KTO sees the increasing number of foreign visitors to Korea as the reason for the jump in gripes.
The number of inbound tourists increased 13 percent last year, marking 7.8 million. Those from Japan jumped 28 percent.
Inconveniences in shopping took up around 33 percent of the complaints last year. These included delivery delays, defects and problems with the custom-tailored goods.
Taxis were the second-greatest inconvenience for foreign tourists. Problems included poor service, taking detours and the refusing of passengers.
A Chinese tourist reported that a taxi driver had requested 20,000 won for driving from Myeongdong to Unhyeon Palace and forced the passengers to get out if they weren't going to pay the amount. He took another taxi using the meter system and paid 3,200 won.
Accommodation and lost or stolen articles also was on the list.
The Tourist Complaint Center, located at the KTO's headquarters in central Seoul, receives positive and negative feedback via telephone, fax or e-mail (tourcom@mail.knto.or.kr).
The annual report is available for viewing at www.visitkorea.or.kr.
meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr
