I read the "Ugly Koreans" editorial on March 4 in The Korea Times with interest. I lived and worked in Korea for six years and I am now living in the Philippines.
The main reason Koreans run into problems here, you correctly spelled out and that is the lack of respect for locals and looking down on them. I live on Panglao Island and there are many Korean tourists here and many of my friends own resorts and most of them don't want Koreans in their resorts. I asked them why and time and again the answer came out, they have no respect for the Philippines, don't want to eat Philippine food i.e. they bring their own rice, kimchi, soju etc. Another accusation leveled at them is they break everything in the rooms, are loud and noisy and don't respect the other guests in the resort.
I often have to travel to Alona Beach and that is a favorite tourist place on Panglao. Koreans walk down the middle of the street and make as though they are the only ones on the planet. This is an exceedingly dangerous thing to do as the driving here is somewhat suspect.
I believe the Korean government, from time to time sends out advisories to Korean about the Philippines. A suggestion is that they also send out advisories on how to conduct yourself in a foreign country. It is sad to say, but all over the world Korean tourists have a bad reputation.
With regards to the death of some Koreans here, sadly this is true but I think a little further investigation will reveal that most of them (not all of course) were involved in crime here. You alluded to that in your article when you said there were many fugitives from the law.
With regards to Korean police teaching Filipino police, that is a joke, right? Both countries' police forces are pretty much useless in my experience. Law enforcement in Korea is a joke.
So, how do we advise Koreans about coming here. Well, here are some ideas.
1.The Philippines is only dangerous if you are stupid. Avoid areas that are dangerous and there are plenty of areas that are perfectly safe.
2. Show respect to the locals. If you are going to visit here or even live here, you need to show the locals that you don't think you are superior to them. In every country where one visits or goes to live, there are things that are not the same as your home country and you have to accept that and respect it too.
3. Make friends with the locals, be polite, greet them first and you will be on the receiving end of a huge smile and a wave.
4. When you go into a shop or restaurant or wherever, make a point of being friendly to the staff. When I go to the supermarket especially ( I do it everywhere), I greet them with a smile, ask them how there day is going, wish them a great day etc and the response I get is fantastic. Just show a little care and you will be rewarded with the renowned Filipino friendliness.
5. Filipinos are not complex people, their needs are simple, treat them well and they will treat you better.
6. If you are going to live here, make friends with your neighbors. It doesn't matter if they live in a shack near you, go to see them, greet them, smile at them, wave at them and I can assure you that your potential problems will be reduced by 99 percent. When I go to the local sari-sari store (a kind of mom and pop store) and there are small kids there buying things for their parents, I usually buy them some cheap candy. You won't believe the response. Most of them are too poor to buy little luxuries, so your popularity will rise exponentially.
Of course there are things that upset me, mostly corruption, the driving and lack of law enforcement (pretty much the same as Korea) but this is my home now and I do my best to fit in with the locals. I have friends from many countries, Russia, the USA for example, but most of my friends are Filipinos and we get on just fine. I don't feel unsafe, I don't feel threatened and I believe it is because I go that extra mile to make them feel that they are the same as me, I am not better in anyway.
The main reason Koreans run into problems here, you correctly spelled out and that is the lack of respect for locals and looking down on them. I live on Panglao Island and there are many Korean tourists here and many of my friends own resorts and most of them don't want Koreans in their resorts. I asked them why and time and again the answer came out, they have no respect for the Philippines, don't want to eat Philippine food i.e. they bring their own rice, kimchi, soju etc. Another accusation leveled at them is they break everything in the rooms, are loud and noisy and don't respect the other guests in the resort.
I often have to travel to Alona Beach and that is a favorite tourist place on Panglao. Koreans walk down the middle of the street and make as though they are the only ones on the planet. This is an exceedingly dangerous thing to do as the driving here is somewhat suspect.
I believe the Korean government, from time to time sends out advisories to Korean about the Philippines. A suggestion is that they also send out advisories on how to conduct yourself in a foreign country. It is sad to say, but all over the world Korean tourists have a bad reputation.
With regards to the death of some Koreans here, sadly this is true but I think a little further investigation will reveal that most of them (not all of course) were involved in crime here. You alluded to that in your article when you said there were many fugitives from the law.
With regards to Korean police teaching Filipino police, that is a joke, right? Both countries' police forces are pretty much useless in my experience. Law enforcement in Korea is a joke.
So, how do we advise Koreans about coming here. Well, here are some ideas.
1.The Philippines is only dangerous if you are stupid. Avoid areas that are dangerous and there are plenty of areas that are perfectly safe.
2. Show respect to the locals. If you are going to visit here or even live here, you need to show the locals that you don't think you are superior to them. In every country where one visits or goes to live, there are things that are not the same as your home country and you have to accept that and respect it too.
3. Make friends with the locals, be polite, greet them first and you will be on the receiving end of a huge smile and a wave.
4. When you go into a shop or restaurant or wherever, make a point of being friendly to the staff. When I go to the supermarket especially ( I do it everywhere), I greet them with a smile, ask them how there day is going, wish them a great day etc and the response I get is fantastic. Just show a little care and you will be rewarded with the renowned Filipino friendliness.
5. Filipinos are not complex people, their needs are simple, treat them well and they will treat you better.
6. If you are going to live here, make friends with your neighbors. It doesn't matter if they live in a shack near you, go to see them, greet them, smile at them, wave at them and I can assure you that your potential problems will be reduced by 99 percent. When I go to the local sari-sari store (a kind of mom and pop store) and there are small kids there buying things for their parents, I usually buy them some cheap candy. You won't believe the response. Most of them are too poor to buy little luxuries, so your popularity will rise exponentially.
Of course there are things that upset me, mostly corruption, the driving and lack of law enforcement (pretty much the same as Korea) but this is my home now and I do my best to fit in with the locals. I have friends from many countries, Russia, the USA for example, but most of my friends are Filipinos and we get on just fine. I don't feel unsafe, I don't feel threatened and I believe it is because I go that extra mile to make them feel that they are the same as me, I am not better in anyway.
Ralph Long
Panglao, Philippines
Email: rlong1952@gmail.com
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