Details Matter—Reflections on a Visit to South Korea with the Delegation of Chinese Youth Envoys

By Bo Ning

Photos by Qiu Tian & Bo Ning

A glimpse of Jeju Island 濟州島一瞥

With a per capita GDP three times that of China, South Korea is an important country with a strong economy, high level of civilization, and active participation in world politics.How did it reach its current height? And what does it look like today? In November of 2019, as a member of the Delegation of China Youth Friendship Envoys, I visited Jeju and Seoul over the course of five days.During the trip, I was impressed with the natural beauty, level of civilization, and high-tech lifestyle of this neighboring country, and noticed its governance of details in nearly all aspects of life.

The Dragon Head Rock 龍頭巖

Having a quick snack by the shore 和著海風吃午餐便當

Focus on EnvironmentalProtection

The first impression we got when we visited the two cities was the greenery everywhere that made for a genuinely nice urban environment.

The first stop after we arrived in Korea was the Dragon Head Rock of Jeju Island.Because of the tight schedule, we were each offered a bento.After me had a quick lunch in the sea breeze on the shore, the organizers reminded us that the used bento boxes should be put back in the garbage can on the bus.For tourists who come to Korea for the first time, garbage disposal is a big problem.The number of garbage bins on the roadside is limited, and they have a fairly complicated classification system for garbage.Thanks to the consideration of the organizers from the Korean Foundation, they had already thought of this problem and provided a temporary garbage can for each bus.

Members of the Hubei team of the delegation in front of the Seongsan Sunrise Peak中國青年友好使者代表團湖北團成員在城山日出峰前合影留念

韓國人均GDP 是中國的3 倍，其經濟實力不容小覷，經濟活力和世界參與度也都非常高。這背后有著怎樣的原因？如今的韓國又是怎樣的面貌？2019年11月，我跟隨中國青年友好使者代表團探訪了該國濟州和首爾兩地。5 天行程中，我領略了韓國的自然、人文與科技風貌，對韓國的發展有了一點粗淺的認識。

環保抓源頭

城市綠化大量覆蓋，環境整潔，是我們探訪兩座城市所得的第一印象。

抵韓后的第一站是濟州島的龍頭巖。行程緊湊，我們直接在海邊和著海風吃午餐便當。組織者提示，吃完后的便當盒要放回車上的垃圾箱里。對初到韓國的游客而言，如何扔垃圾是一大難題，路邊的垃圾箱數量有限，垃圾分類也十分復雜。接待我們的韓方陪同人員早已想到了這個問題，為每輛大巴配備了一個臨時垃圾箱。

在隨后參觀的城山日出峰上和榧子林內，垃圾箱也只有寥寥幾個。和國內不一樣，韓國景區內嚴禁飲食。這樣做既確保了景區衛生整潔，又大大降低了環保成本。

濟州島的榧子林是世界上最大的榧子林，2800 多棵樹齡達500到800年的榧子樹密集生長于此。漫步在林間小路上，呼吸著榧子樹獨特的清香，整個人仿佛都清靜了許多。參天古木在國內并不少見，但這樣大規模成片的存在卻不多見，而韓國將自然資源與城市人文相結合，發展旅游卻是非常理想的思路，更重要的是，環保理念貫穿于旅游的各個環節。

在韓國，扔垃圾是要付費的。我們在首爾街頭見到一種智能食物垃圾箱。這種垃圾箱專為處理最令人頭疼的食物垃圾而發明，它能識別用戶的垃圾處理卡，自動稱重，按垃圾重量扣費，從而從源頭減少食物垃圾。這只垃圾箱體現了科技改變生活的力量，也體現了這座城市智能化的水平。據報道，韓國的垃圾回收率達到80%以上，垃圾分類回收產出的價值占GDP 的2%。

There are many facilities for tourists to learn in a hands-on way in Jeju Folk Village Museum 濟州民俗村博物館內有不少設施可以讓游人一試身手

A narrator demonstrating the achievements of Pangyo Techno Valley 講解員向湖北團成員講解板橋科技谷成就

High-tech food recycling bins on a street of Seoul首爾街頭的智能食物垃圾箱

At the Seongsan Sunrise Peak and in the Bijarim Forest, we also found very few garbage bins.Unlike in China, food is strictly forbidden in Korean scenic spots.This not only greatly reduces the cost of environmental protection, but also ensures the cleanliness of scenic spots with far fewer cleaning staff.

The Bijarim Forest in Jeju is the largest forest of Japanese Torreyas in the world, where more than 2800 of the trees grow, aging from 500 to 800 years old.Walking along the green path, breathing the unique fragrance of the Torreyas, I felt my entire self quieted down and refreshed.Towering ancient wood is not rare in China, but we rarely see such a large-scale exhibition.Such a combination of natural resources and urban culture here seems quite an ideal path for the development of tourism.More importantly, the concept of environmental protection runs through all aspects of tourism.

Members of the Hubei team in front of Hyundai Motorstudio湖北團成員在現代汽車文化中心前合影留念

Performers of The Painters HERO showHERO 涂鴉秀表演者合影

人性化設計

如何塑造城市形象，傳遞其獨特的人文信息，是每座城市在做城市宣傳時必須面對的問題。在濟州和首爾，我們看到了不同的表達。

濟州靠海，自然風光與厚重歷史，是這座城市的特點。這里有三多：風多，石頭多，女人多。這里大大小小的景點多有石頭爺爺的雕像，傳說可以給人帶來好運，而海女作為一種職業，已經成為世界文化遺產。島上的民俗村博物館，將100 多套兩三百年前原濟州島居民居住過的草屋，原封不動地由原址遷移過來。民俗村內擺放著數千件家具、農具、漁具、家畜和形態各異的人物塑像，原汁原味地呈現出當地的農耕歷史與漁民生活。不少設施可以讓游人一試身手，親身體驗一番，我和幾位團友也嘗試了臼米和投壺。

以人為本、注重互動是這里人文表達的突出特點。登上首爾知名的漢江游船時，我們本以為只是一覽江畔風光，沒想到一路上還有江鷗翩飛相伴。這些早已熟識人類的小家伙完全不怕人，倒是游客們更怕它們的利爪和尖喙。饒是如此，我們還是忍不住買了幾杯小魚干，小心翼翼地投喂起來。船艙內還有樂師表演。這些活動為漢江游覽增添了更多互動，使游客流連忘返。

首爾的高樓林立和與濟州的鄉村田園風形成鮮明對比。頂級的綜藝表演和科技展示都彰顯了這座城市的實力，而細節處的妥帖更令人感佩。極富創意的HERO 涂鴉秀表演結合了藝術與科技，既有藝術美感，又有聲光電的震撼，還穿插了各種插科打諢的笑料，整個表演有節奏地撩動觀眾，即使平時內向的男男女女也能開心地笑上一場。從一開始的歡迎屏幕到李小龍和三國英雄人物形象的繪制，都讓在場的中國人感到親切。整場表演以動作語言為主，跨越了語言的鴻溝，既呈現了主創的實力，又實現了全場的互動，讓異國的客人在韓國的娛樂場中充分地得到放松。

和武漢一樣，首爾也有許多大橋，漢江邊也可以看到游客騎行。板橋科技谷和武漢光谷一樣，都是產能巨大的現代科技高地?，F代汽車文化中心的高科技展示讓人聯想到武漢的汽車工業。這些熟悉的風景帶來親切感，而韓國諸多細致入微的人文關懷更讓我們感受到細節的力量，或許，也正是這些讓城市的面貌更美好。

A high-tech display in Hyundai Motorstudio現代汽車文化中心的高科技展示

A glimpse of the Han River in Seoul 首爾漢江一瞥

Gulls flying with the cruise ship above the Han River 漢江上隨游船翩飛的江鷗

In South Korea, people pay for the garbage they throw away.On a street of Seoul, we bumped into a line of intelligent food bins.This kind of intelligent garbage can was specially invented for dealing with food garbage, the biggest headache in recycling.It can identify the garbage disposal card of the user, weigh the waste automatically, and deduct fees according to the garbage weight, so as to reduce the food garbage from the source.This garbage can reflects the power of science and technology in changes of dayto-day life, as well as the smart/tech level of a city.According to a recent report, South Korea's garbage recovery rate is more than 80%, and the value of garbage recycling output accounts for 2% of GDP.

Interaction in Presenting Korea's Image

Building the image of a city and transmitting its unique human information is a question that every city must answer when promoting itself to the world.In Jeju and Seoul, we find different answers.

Jeju is featured by its access to the sea, its natural scenery, and rich history.People say that the city is abundant in three natural gifts—namely, winds, stone, and women.We have come across quite a few statues of Dol Hareubang (literally meaning “grandfather made of stone”) in many scenic spots, which are said to bring good luck.As a profession, the sea women, or female divers, have become a world cultural heritage.In the Folk Village Museum on the island, more than 100 sets of straw houses that the original residents of Jeju lived in two or three hundred years ago were relocated from their original site, and set with thousands of tools, farm implements, fishing gear, furniture, livestock, and statues of residents in different poses, presenting the local farming history and fishermen life in an authentic manner.There are many facilities for tourists to learn in a hands-on way.Several of my team members and I also tried the rice mortar and the pitch-pot game.

People-orientation and interaction are the prominent features in the design of the civilization exhibition here.When we boarded the well-known Han River cruise ship in Seoul, we thought we would just see some beautiful scenery along the river, but unexpectedly, we had the company of river gulls along nearly half the way.These lovely little creatures have been so used to the presence of human beings that they are not afraid of people at all.On the contrary, tourists are more afraid of their sharp claws and beaks.Despite our fear of being pecked on the hand, we still bought some dried fish and threw to them.There were also musicians performing in the cabin.These activities added much more interaction and charm to the Han River tour.

Seoul is a forest of skyscrapers, in sharp contrast to the idyllic island of Jeju.Top variety shows and technology performances demonstrate the strength of the city, and the care to detail is quite impressive.We witnessed The Painters HERO, an innovative show that combines art and technology, presenting artistic beauty with astounding sounds and photoelectric effects, which are interspersed with hilarious gags from time to time.The whole performance got the audience moving rhythmically.Even those introverted in daily life couldn't resist bursting out laughing at the end.From the beginning of the welcome screen to the painting of Bruce Lee and the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, every detail catering to the Chinese audience was seen and felt.The show was mainly based on actions and body language, which transcended the language gap, showing the level and skills of the performers while achieving timely interaction with the entire audience, so that foreign guests like us were also entertained and relaxed in the South Korean theater.

Like Wuhan, there are many bridges in Seoul, and tourists can be seen riding along the Han River.The Pangyo Techno Valley, like the Optics Valley in Wuhan, is a modern technology highland with huge production capacity.The high-tech display of Hyundai Motorstudio, the modern automobile culture center, also reminded me of the automobile industry in Wuhan.These familiar landscapes brought a feel of home, while many meticulous humanistic concerns in South Korea made us feel the power of the attention to detail.Perhaps, it is these details that give a city a better look.