Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Jeju to launch cruise ship interport in May
China's Adora Magic City cruise ship is seen docked at an unidentified port in this file photo. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
By Lee Hae-rin
Korea will begin operating a cruise ship terminal known as an interport on the southern resort island of Jeju in May to boost regional tourism, the government announced Monday.
Interports allow passengers to board and disembark at different points during a cruise itinerary, unlike a port of call, where passengers typically disembark for a few hours before the ship continues to its next destination.
So far, Jeju Port and Seogwipo Gangjeong Port have served as ports of call for cruise ships. Passengers would disembark for short tours or shopping for about four to six hours before reboarding.
As a result, for Koreans to enjoy cruise tours on Jeju, they typically had to use the "fly-and-cruise" method, traveling to another country and then beginning their cruise from there.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province believes that introducing interports to the island will not only enhance the convenience of cruise ship tourism for Korean nationals but also stimulate demand for travel to the island before and after boarding a ship, ultimately benefiting the local economy.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will set up an automated border control system at Gangjeong Port and discuss customs, immigration control and quarantine issues with related agencies.
The ministries will first test-run the interport at Gangjeong Port, with plans to expand its operation in the future to other domestic cruise ports, such as Jeju Port.
The southern resort island has seen a recovery in inbound visitors, with a steady rise in cruise tourism in 2023 after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jeju received 101,000 passengers from 71 cruises in 2023, a number that rose to 641,000 visitors from 274 cruises in 2024. This year, the figure is expected to reach 800,000 passengers from 346 cruises.
Starting May 1, the Adora Magic City, a 135,000-ton ship from China’s state-owned Adora Cruises, will depart from Shanghai, traveling to Jeju and Japan.
In a five- to six-day itinerary, Koreans will be able to board the ship on Jeju, visit Japan and Shanghai and return to Jeju.
Jeju will receive 33 visits from the Adora Magic City by the end of this year, with room on each trip for 60 to 120 Koreans.
The ministries plan to extend the Jeju interport service to foreign nationals in the future.
"Marine tourism, including cruise tourism, is a key factor in revitalizing new regional tourism," Culture Minister Yu In-chon said. "We will actively cooperate with related ministries and local governments to discover marine tourism content to revitalize the local economy."