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Rise in Chinese nationals arriving by boat raises concerns in Korea
Authorities retrieve a boat used by Chinese nationals in an illegal entry attempt off the coast of Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju, Monday. Yonhap
By Park Ung
Driven by political, economic pressures, people from China cross vast stretches of open sea in search of better life
An unidentified inflatable boat drifted ashore on the west coast of Jeju Island on Monday. Inside the abandoned vessel were fishing rods, six life jackets, and emergency food packets with Chinese writing.
After receiving a report, the Korea Coast Guard launched a joint investigation with the military and other agencies.
Hours into the investigation, police arrested a Chinese man in his 40s, whose name was not released. On Tuesday, they apprehended another Chinese man in his 30s and were tracking four others believed to have arrived with them.
What investigators uncovered next was startling.
The men had crossed nearly 460 kilometers of open sea in an inflatable boat powered by a 90-horsepower engine, leaving Nantong in China’s Jiangsu Province on Sunday and arriving in Jeju early the next morning — a perilous journey undertaken in hopes of making money, they told police.
It was not the first time Chinese nationals had braved the open seas to reach Korea. Driven by politics and economic hardship, similar crossings have increased in recent years.
In March, the Korea Coast Guard intercepted two Chinese nationals near Incheon after they crossed from China in an inflatable boat while attempting to enter Korea illegally. The boat, equipped with a 30-horsepower engine, life jackets and a compass, traveled about 234 kilometers in 20 hours before the pair lost their way and drifted amid rough weather and fog.
Investigators said the man in his 30s and woman in her 50s had previously stayed in Korea, but were deported last year for lacking legal status. They later attempted to return to claim unpaid wages.
Coast Guard officers inspect a jet ski used by Chinese human rights activist Kwon Pyong in his illegal entry attempt, in this August 2023 file photo. Courtesy of the Incheon Coast Guard.
In August 2023, Chinese human rights activist Kwon Pyong attempted to enter Korea by jet ski, departing from Shandong Province and headed toward Incheon. He traveled approximately 300 kilometers in 14 hours, navigating with a compass and binoculars.
The jet ski had five 25-liter fuel tanks strapped to it, which he used to refuel along the way.
Lee Dae-seon, a Korean activist, said Kwon had long opposed China’s political censorship, openly supported human rights lawyers detained by the Chinese government and engaged in rights activism in the country.
“Although it was wrong for Kwon to break the law, China’s political repression, unfair trials and constant surveillance drove him to make the desperate choice to risk his life to enter Korea illegally,” Lee wrote on social media at the time.
Last year, Kwon received a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years on appeal, for violating immigration laws.
In 2020, the Korea Coast Guard arrested 21 Chinese nationals for illegally entering Korea. Investigators said most had departed from Weihai Port in China’s Shandong Province in inflatable or leisure boats, crossing the West Sea to land on beaches in Taean, South Chungcheong Province — about 350 kilometers away.
Most had previously been deported from Korea and, unable to reenter legally, attempted the crossing to seek undocumented work in farming and construction. Authorities said each paid between 10,000 and 15,000 yuan ($1,405 to $2,107) to buy the boats used in the attempt.
Coast Guard officers examine a small boat found on a beach in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, May 25, 2020. Authorities believe six Chinese nationals used it to enter Korea illegally. Yonhap
The string of attempted sea crossings has prompted authorities to tighten enforcement. The Korea Coast Guard conducted a four-month crackdown on illegal departures and entries from May to August.
The agency said that over the past six years, it recorded 49 cases of maritime border crimes, including illegal entry and stowaway attempts. Fourteen involved small boats, mostly during favorable weather.
“In the past, illegal entrants often hid on fishing or cargo vessels,” the agency said. “More recently, they have turned to cheaper, faster crossings on small high-powered boats. In Jeju, some foreigners are also using the island’s visa-free program to slip to the mainland without authorization.”