I am a licensed tour guide by Korean tourism board but I am not practicing yet.
My current job is a financial analyst. I do analyze P&L for my company and help the business leads to make decisions.
The reason that I took the exam and became the licensed tour guide is due to my personal experience.
I used to live in Singapore and had lots of international friends. One day, my colleague who just came back form a package tour to Korea asked me a question.
My colleague: Is it really the family violence of Korea that bad?
Me: I beg your pardon?
My colleague: The tour guide told us the reason that Korean spoons and chopsticks are made of metal is because of that people throw things when they quarrel and fight among family members. That’s why they use metal stuff so they don’t break.
I was shocked. What kind of Sons of bees are telling such nonsense to tourists? Later I found out those are illegal Chinese tour guides who know nothing about Korean cultures.
When I was back from Singapore, I decided to learn more about the culture and tourist attractions. With that I took the exam and got the license. However, passing the exam was only the beginning. To become a knowledgable tour guide a lot of studies must be done which is not easy at all.
When I am retired, I would like to do further study and become a part-time tour guide. Who knows? I might become a good Jeju tour guide one day!
Jeju 제주 