[From Readers] Foreign tourist badly treated at Namdaemun Market

Some days ago, I went to Seoul`s Namdaemun Market to buy a bag with my Taiwanese friends, who had come here to do some sightseeing. Upon entering a shop, a young employee murmured, ``Look at those uninvited guests. They never buy anything. Ah, I hate them…`` She was apparently expressing her discontent with Taiwanese tourists, perhaps thinking they don`t spend as much money as the Japanese.

I was upset, but without showing any emotion, I led my friends to the shop next door. We examined some of the goods there, decided not to buy anything and were getting ready to leave. Then the shopkeeper who was eating lunch behind us said, ``I was eating, how unlucky for me…`` How could the merchants there make such remarks?

Internet reader (qwiyoung@yahoo.co.kr)