Recently, two video clips showing a Chinese tourist quarreling with a South Korean tour guide became an Internet sensation. The clips show the local guide telling Chinese tourists to buy Koryo ginseng, claiming that a visit to a ginseng shop is a government regulation.

In the video, the tour guide brawled with the Chinese tourist at first, and then insulted him with rude language. The tourist who recorded the video, surnamed Shen, said the incident happened on Oct. 4 in South Korea.

On that day, several tourists asked the tour agency to switch their bus because they believed there were safety issues with the vehicle. As a result, the day's itinerary was delayed, leading the tourists to propose canceling their scheduled trip to the ginseng shop. However, that proposition was rejected by the tour guide, who claimed that the South Korean government mandated that tour groups visit the shop.

Some of the tourists refused to accept the tour guide's explanation, prompting the guide to chastise the tourists for not spending enough money on shopping. The guide even tried to take Shen's mobile phone to prevent him from contacting the tour agency.

Later, the tour guide apologized to the tourists after police arrived. A man surnamed Jiang, who has worked in the South Korean tourism industry for years, explained that tour guides in South Korea don't make much money from package tour deals. They therefore depend on commissions from shopping to earn extra money.

According to the tourism department of South Korea, tourists are permitted to opt out of shopping while traveling, and they can lodge a complaint with authorities if they are not permitted to do so.