By Lee Hyo-sik
South Koreans’ rush to leave Japan after an 9.0 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami hit its northeastern coastal areas Friday continued Sunday though the pace slowed a bit.
Many tourists and students flocked to Narita and Haneda airports, which reopened after a one-day shutdown following the earthquake, in order to secure airplane tickets back home.
Hundreds of people who were unable to obtain tickets had to remain at the airports, hoping to find seats on planes bound for Korea in the coming days.
But the situation turned a bit better on Sunday. “Passenger are having no major difficulty buying tickets to Korea,” an Asiana Airlines spokesman said.
The government is also taking all steps to transport Koreans seeking to leave Japan without any setbacks.
Many Koreans heaved a sigh of relief after their return home.
Upon his arrival at Gimpo International Airport from Haneda Airport, a 25-year-old Korean man who studies Japanese at a language institute in downtown Tokyo said he went to Haneda Friday night to come back to Korea.
“I would like to continue to stay there and study Japanese, while working part-time at several restaurants. But my parents want me to come home as soon as possible,” he said.
Japan closed all airports Friday in the aftermath of the most severe earthquake in its history, forcing Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and other airline firms to suspend flights in and out of the country.
But on Saturday, except for Sendai and Ibaraki airports in the northeast of Honshu Island that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, all other facilities resumed operation.
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have been operating all flights as scheduled over the weekend.
Meanwhile, many Japanese tourists here, particularly those from earthquake-hit regions, have canceled tour schedules to return home early.
An executive of a travel agency catering mainly to inbound tourists said a large number of Japanese travelers have called his company to cancel the remaining itinerary.
“They are asking whether they can immediately get plane tickets to Japan. They are extremely worried about their family and friends back home and would like to go back as quickly as possible,” the executive said.
He then expressed concerns that the latest earthquake could have a negative impact on the domestic tourism sector if Japanese tourists decide to stay home rather than come to Korea.
A total of 3.02 million Japanese tourists came here in 2010, accounting for 34.4 percent of the total inbound foreign visitors.