The "Hawaii" Hotel

I saw something interesting in one of my textbooks last term:

The story the kids make up goes something like this: "A man thinks about a vacation. He takes a suitcase with him. People in Hawaii give him a lei. It is good to stay at the Hawaii Hotel. In the evening, there is a luau. "

Of course, the kids didn’t know the words luau or lei, but that was no big deal. The funny thing was that he stayed in the “Hawaii Hotel.” My students naturally assumed that' s in Hawaii.

But Hawaii doesn’t have a “Hawaii Hotel.” Korea does. In fact, it’s near the big COEX mall in the Kangnam area.

I ended up seeing it a few days after teaching this particular class. How ironic.