For Once, Koreans Have Something to Be Proud Of

The Chinese media posted articles on October 7 saying that the Chinese should learn environmental conservation and public morality from the Koreans after Korean tourists cleaned up the trash at a public garden in Wulumuqi City in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region recently.

According to Xinjing Bao, a Beijing newspaper, around 80 Korean tourists who visited Nanshan Garden on October 2 started to pick up trash together, cleaning up the area around a one-kilometer radius in only 20 minutes. Among the tourists, 30 were children.

“Learn public morality from the Koreans”-

In an editorial titled, “What Can We Learn from the Korean Tourists?” the government-managed Xinhua News Agency praised the Koreans, stating, “They made us realize that we should all become more environmentally conscious and care about public etiquette, and that we should improve the level of public resource management.”

Yoo In-gyu, a Korean tourist, mentioned in an interview with the news agency that he was “surprised by the amount of trash in this beautiful place.”

The editorial stated, “With the increase of leisure time due to improved economic conditions, more tourists are visiting tourist attractions, but it is distressing to see these places become so contaminated. Our Korean visitors taught us that ‘public resources are the answer to measuring the standard of public morality.’”

In addition, the editorial pointed out that early education of environmental conservation is necessary, quoting a Korean tourist who mentioned that Koreans learn to protect the environment at an early age at home and at school.

The editorial emphasized, “The natural scenery and cultural heritage that we have in our tourist sites are precious gifts from our ancestors, and it is the responsibility of the people to protect them. From now on, China should not leave foreigners to pick up trash in our gardens.”

Yoo-Seong Hwang yshwang@donga.com