Experiencing the local culture in other countries is generally a mixture of scary, confusion, and amazement when you travel without following a guide.
Of course, “local culture” can mean a lot of things.
One very common type of scam that happens overseas is when “friendly locals” approach you to “help” you with something, usually a distorted version of a local culture.
Or sometimes, it might be a pretty girl/handsome boy pretending to “want to practice English”.
Sadly, we don’t live in a nice world. Most strangers approaching you are likely to be scammers. (Here‘s an infographic you might want to note.)
Or in the case of six Malaysians who travelled to Korea for a vacation, the scam appears to be a cult of some sort.
Approached By Two Local Korean Students To “Experience Native Korean Culture”
One day, just out of the blue, the two Korean students approached them, claiming to be university students that have an event that “introduces Korean culture at Seoul University”.
Which kind of sounds plausible at this point. But the six Malaysians already had their own plans to rent Hanboks that afternoon, and so were hesitant to accept the offer.
“Ah, alright, sorry to bother you then!” is something that the Korean students did not say like a normal human being. Instead, the Korean students told them they would get to experience Korean culture and get free Hanboks in the process.
And like anyone of us here at Goody Feed, they immediately agreed on hearing the word “free”.
But Things Got Suspicious
On the way to the university, one of the Malaysians took a picture of the Korean students, but this actually angered them. The students tried to avoid the camera and were hiding their faces.
I understand the fear of cameras and the want for anonymity, but the Korean students’ refusal and anger made them look suspicious.
And the even more suspicious part is that instead of being brought to the university as said before, the Malaysians were brought to a community centre.
They were given Hanboks usually used for ceremonial purposes, then asked to write their names on a piece of paper and taught how to kneel and pay respects.
Being wary, the Malaysians used fake names before following into a hall, where they found a priest with a girl and another tourist.
Wait A Minute, Isn’t This Just A Cult?
So here’s when things start to really go wrong.
As the priest started reading mantras, they were expected to bow down, and couldn’t even talk as the priest would scold them.
Tourists were asked to mimic the priest’ movements, but as the Malaysians were Muslims, they were actually not allowed to partake in the practices of other religions.
Naturally, they rejected mimicking the movements and also turned down the fruits the priest kept for prayers and asked them to eat.
But the confirmation that everything was just a scam came when the Korean students started asking for donations.
The claim from the students is that this is something that helps the community. The Malaysians gave them 1,000 Won (~ S$1.16) and were told it isn’t enough.
They managed to go away safely and ran off to the train station after claiming they didn’t have much money.
In the end, it’s hard to tell whether this is a cult or a scam, probably a mix of both. I don’t know about you guys, but it’s probably wise not to waste time with suspicious strangers when travelling overseas.
And there’s no free Hanbok in the world.
Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:
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