Korean government swoops in to help ripped-off tourists

Tue, 02/28/2012 - 11:02 — Anonymous by CNNGo staff The Korean government
has leapt into action following nationwide media coverage condemning Korean
vendors who rip off tourists. The Chosun Ilbo ran an exposé earlier this
month on scams at pojangmachas (covered street carts) which was then picked
up and bandied about by scores of media outlets up and down the country. One
of the foreign victims was Japanese tourist Nakamura Haru, who ordered a
single kimchi jeon and two bottles of beer, and was told to pay ₩50,000
(US$44) at a Namdaemun pojangmacha. The standard cost for such fare at most
pojangmacha is around ₩16,000. "I couldn't communicate so I just paid
and left, but I didn't know Korea's standards were so low," Nakamura
told Chosun Ilbo. He said that he had been "nervous" about entering the
pojangmacha, as its menu did not list any prices. Chinese tourist Qu Fui Han,
31, was also being ripped off at a pojangmacha in Dongdaemun, according to
the Korean daily. Qu, who speaks fluent Korean, said the owner yelled at him
for complaining when he asked why he was paying four times as much as a
Korean customer.read more