Unexpected Soundtrack

It quickly became apparent in Korea that natural sound isn't desirable.  We hiked up a mountain with beautiful carved Buddhas and came to rest at an ancient temple.  The sound of the wind in the trees and birds chirping and perhaps some monks chanting (live) would have been a quiet moment of serenity.  Someone had other ideas.  Hidden speakers piped in music.  The music (in this case) wasn't bad or too loud, but it was definitely out of place.

This has not been an isolated incident and has not been limited to quiet moments.  At the beach in Sokcho, South Korea. there were many opportunities to ride in inflated tubes and rafts while being pulled behind speed boats.  People LOVED it.  Having experienced this type of activity before, I fully expected to here the delighted screams of gleefully terrified young people.  Not the case.  The speed boats were equipped with large speaker blaring pop music.  I guess this was meant to enhance the whole experience, but, in order for the raft/tube-riders to here it, the music was played at such a loud volume that it muddy and distorted.

The piped in soundtrack is not only present in Korea, we have been to several sites in China where the natural sound is apparently not enough.  The tourist sites we visit are plenty authentic (though I do wish that there wasn't quite so much modern signage), but the piped in music seems to angle at increasing the degree of authenticity.  Maybe I'm curmudgeon and think everyone should turn their music down (this is often true), but I just find it makes these places a bit less interesting.