SkiAdcock

Moved by SkiAdcock and seconded by Cholula:

"The TalkBoard recommends to the Community Director the creation of a Korea Forum and relocation of appropriate threads from other forums once created. The forum description will be: Countries of the Korean Peninsula"

This vote will close on August 17, 2012, at 10:52pm or after all TalkBoard members have registered their vote, whichever comes first

Per the TalkBoard Guidelines:

A motion shall pass if at least two-thirds of the yes or no votes cast by TalkBoard members are ‘yes’ and a majority of the total TalkBoard membership votes 'yes.'

The purpose of posting voting topics in the public TalkBoard Topics forum is to solicit member feedback on any motions that are up for a vote and to allow for comments after a vote is made. It is at the sole discretion of the individual TalkBoard members whether they choose to post in the public discussion thread, there being no requirement to do so.

So while there is already a thread and discussion on this general topic and it is safe to assume that TalkBoard members have reviewed that thread, this thread is about this specific motion.

Please feel free to post questions, comments or any other sort of feedback in this thread, or in the other discussion thread. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/talkb...stination.html

tcook052

Support the motion and know this forum will generate lots of informative posts about this special destination. ^

kokonutz

I voted for this motion in the private TB forum. ^

nerd

Good forum description. If the two Koreas unify, or if a third is somehow discovered, Talkboard will be saved a lengthy debate on how to rename the forum. ^

goalie

As did I

Kagehitokiri

i would consider it a plus

abraxis

Korea is a destination, especially for transit at ICN. It deserves its own forum.

lin821

May I ask why a change of heart, if any, this time around? Any convincing arguments that had won you over?

Allow me to reiterate my question: "Have things changed significantly on FT w/r/t destination Korea since 2009?"

Meaning South Koreans are more willing to visit US? US is doing more free trade with South Korea? How is it relevant to FT? What did that mean on FT and in the context of FT?

I applause OP's effort in promoting Korea but I personally don't see significant FT implication and relevance from his supporting evidence. For instance, I know Korean films and music is kind of big in Asia market, I sincerely doubt any Korean film/drama/music fans would come to destination Korea and discussion their passion in English on FT. From my reading of China and Hong Kong Forum (both standalone and popular fora), neither carries weight on that kind of discussion threads.

As an Asia Forum regular, I have yet to see Korea discussion threads dominate Asia Forum. Korea didn't have an edge and hasn't. Most, if not all, Korea discussion threads tend to be short and/or lukewarm, i.e. fewer than 15 posts for a single thread. This Korean food thread is of exemplary exception. Even I had asked for it, nobody has provided evidence Korea discussion threads scattered "all over FT." I personally haven't seen too much change even after the 1st round of this proposal since September 2009. On top of my head, I'd say I see more threads quantitatively and qualitatively about visiting S.E. Asia than Korea.

Are there passionate followers of destination Korea? Yes, indeed there are and I can count them all in one hand. That's me being generous.

Is a critical mass of posts and readers anticipated or existing?
Let me answer it using an extreme case. This Korean native who had "declared" intention to participate in Korea discussion in 2009 still holds a record of zero Korea post in Asia Forum as of today. I didn't count and am not sure how many of the supporters of this proposal/motion actually did participate in Korea discussion over Asia Forum. Action speaks louder than words. And threads speak volume. Let's not forget about what happened to Senior Travel Forum. I say our Canadian Evangelist tcook052 shows more initiative in Korea discussion since late 2010.

I am sure Korea is a nice destination to visit, just like Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia. Each country has its own unique offering and tourist attractions. But to be honest, there's just not enough FT traffic/threads/cult to justify the creation of Korea Forum, just like our OMNI/Sports.

Having said that, I sense FT traffic, aka the unmet need, is any determinant factor for the current TB from the voting record on recent motions. I know for a fact that some current TBers who don't value as much of the criteria for creating new fora and had publicly stated their position. However, for those TBers who haven't cast your votes, please exercise your best judgment based on the merits, or lack of, in this proposal/motion.

skchin

If everything in the market was running the way you describe, why would anyone spend the time and money to promote anything since it's always insignificant value from the start? FT too started with a humble beginning with only small attractions from the start. However, after over a decade of knowledge stored in this website, tens of thousands people flock here. You definitely come here for something, in Asia Forum for something.
When there is a product with a value - which South Korea definitely has with over 9 million tourists each year and 15th ranked GDP economy - will only benefit more business and travelers alike to visit FT.

lin821

FT has grown and changed over the years. FTers' demand is what maintains existing fora, and FT traffic justifies creation of new ones. If you failed to notice, koko hasn't been successful in selling a Men's Forum on FT.

As to why and how I participate in Asia Forum is OT for the motion at hand. Simply put, I consider my posts in Asia Forum a form of giving back to FT.

FWIW, quite a few business travelers came to FT and stay comfortably in the airline fora of their preference. They have close to zero desire to engage in discussion over destination fora. Speaking from my personal experience, I know quite a few FTers who are very knowledgeable about my home country but hardly ever post in Asia Forum about it, let alone answering (destination) questions. Yet, you'll find their posts in airline fora easily.

(underline mine)

Rather than "visit FT", don't you mean "to visit South Korea?"

From the same Wikipedia reference, Malaysia outranks South Korea with 24.7 million international tourist arrivals in 2011. I don't see Malaysia discussion threads outnumber Korea ones in Asia Forum though.

I am also not sure how many of those 9 million South Korea tourists did know about FT, let alone visiting FT. Those numbers might be one indicator of business and leisure travelers to visit South Korea. Whether it can be translated directly into FT traffic, that's the question!

My question remains: "Have things changed significantly on FT w/r/t destination Korea since 2009?"

T8191

I apologise for a shallow response, but it doesn't strike me as being a major benefit for the [perceived] few who go there.

My vote is NO.

skchin

You make a valid point. I'd like to recommend you for the Asia Forum moderator position.

garykung

Sure why not?

BTW - the new Korean forum will be the least political as we can imagine.

Does DPRK have internet to access FT anyway?

jiejie

DPRK has no internet access.

I see far more threads on the Indochina countries especially Vietnam, so to me that warrants consideration of a dedicated forum before Korea does.
No malice towards Korea as a travel destination, just observing the traffic and taking a volume-based point of view. I'm sure there are members here with their "pet" destination either because of ethnic ties or fond memories, but what's of practical use to the greatest number of people should be the driver. IMO.

Pegasus23

I support the Korea Forum. I would like the creative imaginative spirit of The Korean Peninsula to have a forum here on Flyertalk. All-in for Korea!