The continuous discovery of missing human bodies at famous tourist destinations on Jeju Island has caused public panic, causing many tourists to cancel their trips.
Kang, 29, who regularly stays in Jeju every fall vacation, just decided to cancel all his plans this year, staying in Seoul instead of enjoying a week of walking as usual. “I usually travel alone to relax, but recent incidents make me feel that it is not safe for women to go to Jeju alone,” she said.
A wave of tour cancellations and schedule postponements spread among the Korean tourist community after authorities continuously found the bodies of people previously reported missing, the cause of death is currently being investigated. Jeju’s tourism industry, which is facing a decline in domestic tourists, is facing the risk of a more serious crisis.
Police examined the scene after finding Ms. Jang Mi-ran’s body at a palm farm in Jeju, August 24. Image: Yonhap News
On forums and social networks, many discussion topics about whether to continue going to Jeju or not attracted thousands of interactions. One account shared: “I booked a ticket to Jeju in October but am now very hesitant, not sure if the downtown area is really safe.”
Another person said the family had to consider waiving the service cancellation fine because their child was frightened. Lee, 23 years old, an office worker in Seoul, also proactively advised her mother to postpone her year-end trip.
During the three days of August 22-24, local police discovered a total of 4 bodies related to the disappearances, in the areas of Hallim-eup, Gujwa-eup, Jocheon-eup and Aewol-eup – near the Jeju Olle trail, a famous trekking route. Among them, the body believed to be that of Ms. Jang Mi-ran, 37 years old, was found just 400 meters from where she was staying. The case was improperly closed by an investigator with a note “contacted”. The chain of discoveries caused many false rumors to spread, directly affecting tourism businesses.
The owner of a homestay in Hallim-eup said the area has good security and a dense streetlight system. “We often welcome guests traveling alone, it is unfortunate that the whole community is negatively affected,” this person said. Neighboring accommodation establishment owners also recorded a large number of calls asking about the security situation. Some small businesses asked to terminate the rental contract early to withdraw their deposit.
The series of events took place at the right time when Jeju tourism industry recorded declining indexes. According to the Jeju Tourism Organization (JTO), in July the island welcomed more than 963,000 domestic visitors, down 12% over the same period – the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of monthly domestic visitors fell below the one million mark. In August, the average number of visitors per day reached about 35,200, lower than the same period last year. Widespread reluctance to travel is expected to continue to put pressure on the island’s economic recovery in the final months of the year.