In the competition to attract Asian visitors, a volcanic island off the coast of South Korea continues to grow in popularity. Jeju Island is a little bigger than O‘ahu, but hosts millions more visitors each year…and not everyone there is happy about it. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
Craggy volcanic rock arching over a rugged coastline: a familiar sight in Hawai‘i.
Off Korea’s southern coast, it’s a view an increasing number of Chinese visitors are paying to see. In fact, it’s become so popular that nearly half of the 6-million Chinese who visited South Korea last year came to the island of Jeju.
Travel there is visa-free for Chinese tourists…who make up nearly a quarter of Jeju’s 13-million annual visitors. By comparison, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority expects nearly 9-million visitors this year. Jeju’s beauty is indisputable…including three areas recognized by the United Nations as World Natural History Sites.
There’s other history—a tradition of woman divers scooping up abalone and other shellfish to darker reminders of a painful past: caves carved out of the coastline by occupying Japanese military forces.
Jeju is a little more than 700 square miles - about 15% bigger than O‘ahu and its single airport is packed - even on weekdays. Earlier this month the government announced plans to build a second one—a three-and a half billion dollar project. Many locals are happy with an increasing visitor count, but not everyone is cheering.
Last week, the Jeju Weekly ran an Op-Ed piece suggesting a limit on the number of tourists allowed….writing that “our concern should be for the capacity of our island’s environment.”
The piece continued: “the cash cow is getting milked for all it is worth, and we need brave and creative solutions to both increase tourism revenue and limit its environmental impact.”
