“You’re ruining Asia for yourself!”

Back when I was planning my trip I think I had somewhere in my mind that going to Japan and Korea would be a good introduction to Asia. Perhaps I did or perhaps I didn’t, but one thing that is for sure is that while I was in Korea I met someone who disagreed with that idea. In the city of Busan I was talking to a Korean woman and I laid out the itinerary of my trip. After hearing all of it she was strangely horrified and said “You’re ruining Asia for yourself!” Being very perplexed at this statement, I asked her what she meant and she explained that, in her opinion, by visiting first the two most advanced nations on the continent (both technologically and socially) I would find myself a bit disappointed should I ever travel to other parts of Asia. My immediate reflex was to reject this line of thinking, and today I’m still skeptical of it, but I do have to concede there is a tiny bit of truth embedded in what she said. Having experienced Asia’s two most developed countries I might feel a tinge of dissatisfaction that other parts of the continent don’t have all the things Japan and Korea do. That dissatisfaction would likely dissipate quickly but it might still pop up from time to time.