Let’s get this out of the way.

If you’re looking for the top 10 Instagram-able places…this is not where you’ll find it.

If you’re looking for the best places to visit, I’ll post some of my most favorite links below for you to check out.

I’m no photographer…so my photos are like what anyone with a smart phone clicks. Some are good. Some…uhhh…not so much.

So…if the above are what you’re looking for in my Travelogue section – honestly, you won’t find them here.

What I have are stories – most of them are directly connected to the places I visit and the people I meet. Some aren’t. Most stories are about good and happy experiences. A very few…not so much. I’ll be honest about all my experiences – with humor and no malice.

These are stories that have affected and changed me. I hope you like them as much as I’ve enjoyed experiencing them. Enjoy!!

South Korea – Why So Unfair To Indians?

By the messy optimist

So…no joke. But I think that South Korea is particularly unkind to Indians. And their blatantly unfair visa rules towards Indians means that I may never go to South Korea.

Please don’t think I’m being harsh or hurtful. I’m really sad and upset about this because I really would love to visit South Korea.

And I know what you’re thinking…if she hasn’t been to a country – why is she writing about it in her travelogues?

Fair observation.

I’ll tell you why.

For starters – unlike many of the other countries I’ve been to – South Korea has always been a bit of a mystery to me. In a very nice way.

While I didn’t know a whole lot about it – I know what many others knew about it, I guess.

For one, I know it as the ‘other’ Korea – the one that is democratic and modern and open. I’ve heard of K-Pop, like, who hasn’t? I have entire classroom full of journalism kids who write feature stories about their love for BTS or Rain or EXO even as some run their own fanclubs for their favorite K-Pop bands. And then there was the young woman I met (from Belarus) when I went from Vienna to Bratislava who described the beauty and elegance of Korean TV dramas. Finally, I had a friend’s friend’s kid work in a college near Seoul, South Korea. He still lives there and absolutely loves it.

So – I know a little bit about South Korea.

I’ll also be honest – going there was also about me wanting to visit yet another beautiful Asian country. Not to mention adding yet another check to my healthy and rapidly growing list of countries I’d visited.

So – what really happened?

But before I explain why I still haven’t been to South Korea and probably never will…

First off – NO OFFENSE WHATSOEVER to ANY of these countrymen BUT…

Lesotho. Guatemala. Uruguay. Palau. Tunisia. Tuvalu. Micronesia. Kiribati. Honduras. Eswatini. Taiwan. Suriname. Dominica. Colombia.

AND MANY MORE.

These are some of the many, many, many countries that are allowed entry into South Korea’s hallowed countryside without a visa or are allowed with a very convenient on-arrival visa.

So, imagine my sadness and hurt when I found out that India, and Indians, (with a sizeable and growing population of travelers) do not merit the same convenience that the Palauns merit. Or Eswatinians. Or Lesothans. BTW…I had never heard of a country called Eswatini. I will research more after I’m done writing this blog post.

Unfair visa rules for Indians

Hurt I was that Indians are required to apply for a regular visa to enter South Korea. Sigh. One more round of long and boring visa applications I thought.

And, don’t get me wrong. I accept the fact that if I wish to go to a country I have to follow their visa rules. And even though it’s a tedious and time-consuming process, I’m more than willing to do it.

It just felt a tad discriminatory and unfair to Indians given the long list of other countries that are allowed smooth sailing into South Korea than us.

Anyhoo, I did my due diligence and I applied for a South Korean visa in Shanghai.

The Chinese gentleman at the agency that handles all Korean visas asked me why I wanted to visit the country? Why not, I asked him? Beautiful country, K-Pop, K-dramas and like I said before – I’d been traveling a lot – so why not do South Korea specially since it was so close to China where I lived and worked?

He shrugged. His attitude seemed a bit off to me at that time. I just figured I was over-reading something that wasn’t there and asked him if I could apply for a multiple-entry visa. Seoul is so close to Shanghai – I figured I could go there (like I go to Japan) during long weekends from work. The Chinese gentleman smiled and shook his head. No multiple-entry visa for you – meaning, none for Indian passport holders.

OK…I guess, that was my first clue at what was to happen soon.

When South Korea’s visa drama is more dramatic than K-dramas

Anyways…visa application was duly sent in to the Korean embassy. The very next day I got a phone call and the Chinese gentleman from the visa agency told me that the South Korean embassy was insisting that I submit my original Chinese tax document with my visa.

Now – in normal circumstances that would not be a big deal.

But, in China – getting the tax document for foreigners is a very big deal. You typically get ONLY ONE copy – which you need when you wish to transfer money to your home country. The banks actually stamp on the original tax document as proof that you’ve paid your taxes in China and you are, therefore, allowed to repatriate a part of your salary home.

“So, NO. I cannot submit the original,” I said.

“In that case – your visa will be rejected,” said my Chinese friend.

Despite the fact that I’ve submitted everything else they asked for? I asked him incredulously.

Fully completed visa form. Visa fees. Bank statements for six months. Three passports (the latest one and two old ones) – all of which had multiple visa stamps from all over the world. An employment letter from my university in Shanghai. A copy of the tax document ALONGWITH the ORIGINAL with the request that they simply RETURN the original once they’re done.

Despite submitting ALL of this – they will reject my visa, I asked the Chinese gentleman again?

“Yes,” he said simply.

Ask them to f…uck off, I told my by-now Chinese friend from the visa agency.

He laughed out loud. “Well done,” he replied. “The South Koreans are extremely snobby to Chinese people. I’m so glad you’re taking your application back.”

The lightbulb went off in my brain. AHA! That’s why he appeared so offhand the day before and asked why I bothered to go to South Korea.

And that’s the first time and ONLY time I have ever said forget it to a country.

Why I Have Never Been and May Never go to South Korea

I went back to the visa agency and took my application back, tore the visa application into itsy bitsy pieces (and boy that made me feel good) and said f… it, again.

This is my main issue with South Korea – it’s the unfairness meted out to Indian passport holders. It’s the inconsistency in their visa policy that really saddens me. It’s not like the Schengen Visa or visas to the UK or the US – they maintain almost similar visa policies towards most developing countries.

PS: South Korea made India’s superstar, Bollywood megastar ShahRukh Khan their tourism ambassador and asked for Bollywood’s help in promoting South Korea to Indians.

Well good luck with that, South Korea.

You just lost one very good tourist with your behavior.

A direct message

This is directly to South Korea – Seriously…despite the overwhelming number of countries that you – yes, you, South Korea – allow with no visa or on-arrival visa, you make Indians (one of the largest and growing number of tourists in the world) jump through hoops?

Why?

All I’m asking if for you to treat me the same as you do Lesothans and Micronesians.

So…NO. I haven’t been to South Korea. And I’m not sure I want to visit a country that clearly does not want me to visit them. Even sadder – India and South Korea do not have any unsavory past relations of any kind.

In the billion-to-one chance that someone/anyone from the South Korean travel industry reads this post – I hope it will encourage the South Koreans to at least consider changing what feels like blatantly discriminatory practices towards Indians. At the very least – treat us the way you treat Tuvaluans.

So. No. I haven’t been to South Korea.

And unless South Korea wants genuinely wants Indians to visit their beautiful country – I probably will not be visiting it anytime soon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_South_Korean_citizens

https://visafreecountries.com/south-korean-passport