A South Korean university has become a new destination for Chinese tourists who believe a myth that taking a photo at the school will bring them fortune.

As over 100,000 Chinese are expected to visit Korea during the Labor Day holiday, April 27-May 5, tourist buses are busy shuttling a large flock of Taiwanese and Chinese to the Ewha Womans University area.

Among Chinese tourists, a rumor has been circulated that those who take a picture at the university will gain nobility and wealth. The rumor is based on the name of the university “Ewha,” pronounced similarly to a Chinese word “lifa,” meaning profitable.

Although the tourists boost the economy in the area, students of the university have complained about the visitors making noise and taking pictures inside of the buildings and even in the library.

Korean broadcaster SBS spotted a Chinese couple wearing a white dress and tuxedo and taking wedding photos inside the campus without permission from the school.

To block outsiders, the university has set up "no entry" signs and asks for student ID at some gate entrances.

“It’s hard to count (how many tourists there are) as there are too many of them. When someone reports them, we tell them to leave,” a security guard at the school said.

From news report
(khnews@heraldcorp.com)