Since South Korea implemented a 15-day visa exemption for China last November, a large number of South Korean tourists have visited Shanghai. China has been excited about this, believing that it not only promotes the development of tourism and related industries but also enhances cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries.
Amidst the lively prosperity borrowed from South Korean tourists, China’s economy seems to brighten again. But just like the previous attempts by China to attract domestic tourists through internet-famous scenic spots, such visa-free tourism to attract foreign tourists will not remain popular for long. As the contradictions of the capitalist class continue to intensify, the proletariat not only becomes increasingly impoverished but also grows in number year by year, leading to fewer people able to travel. The tourism industry itself, as a non-productive sector, does not create value; it merely drives the consumption of surplus goods. True economic development still depends on the continuous growth of the productive sectors. However, as fierce competition among capitalists persists, the state of unregulated production will continue to exist. As the people’s ability to pay diminishes, the relative surplus of goods will inevitably grow larger, and economic crises will persist. Although South Korean tourists seem to have invigorated China’s economy to some extent as a kind of stimulant, cross-border tourism is merely taking money that should be spent domestically and spending it abroad. Even if it temporarily stimulates a country’s economy, the overall global production remains in surplus. It is impossible to find a force outside the world to resolve the overproduction problem, and the global economic crisis will not weaken because of the development of international tourism. Only by establishing planned socialist production, enabling the working people to control the distribution of social products, can the economy truly develop rapidly, efficiently, and economically, and break free from reliance on external stimuli.
On the other hand, the so-called tourists who earn money in South Korea and spend in China are only a small part of the wealthy bourgeoisie and the professional elite. South Korea has a huge wealth gap, with the top 10% earning nearly 21 times more than the bottom 10%, a difference of about one million RMB. The bottom 10% in South Korea earn only a little over 30,000 RMB annually, and the bottom 20% earn just over 60,000 RMB. Meanwhile, “spending four or five hundred yuan on a plane ticket to come here and eat lamb skewers is more cost-effective than eating in South Korea.” “South Korea and Shanghai feel very bourgeois.” This clearly shows the non-proletarian nature of these tourists. The cultural exchange promoted by China is merely the infiltration of China’s decayed culture into Korea—“wearing traditional Chinese clothing and dressing as a king to take photos is very popular.” Only socialist countries can truly facilitate cultural exchanges among the working people; imperialism can only export reactionary and decayed culture.
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