By Kim Rahn
A 28-year-old office worker in Seoul, surnamed Park, needed a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. She went to Jeju Island all by herself at the end of June, walked along one of Olle trekking courses, which are said to be the best to enjoy the scenery of the island and become absorbed in meditation.
She really enjoyed the trip, refreshing herself and regaining energy. She has recommended Olle trekking to her colleagues and friends but stopped doing so since last Friday when a part of a female trekker’s body was found following an apparent murder.
“It was a shock because the whole trip was so peaceful and I enjoyed it so much. I never expected such a horrible thing to happen on Jeju. I feel my hair stand up on the end when thinking I could be the victim,” Park said.
Olle, the trekking courses that have opened a new era for the island’s tourism, has suddenly become the least-desired travel program after the killing.
A 40-year-old woman, surnamed Kang, who came to Jeju from Seoul on July 11, went missing the next day after leaving a guesthouse for a hike on the eastern part of the island. On July 20, her shoes and right hand were found at a bus terminal. Police apprehended a 46-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of killing Kang. They quoted the suspects as confessing to the killing and abandoning the body. Police found the remainder of the body in a bamboo field near the Olle course.
Since the opening of the first route in 2007, Olle has been popular and become a synonym for trekking. Twenty courses along the seashore have been developed, with the 21st one being scheduled to open in September. It is estimated some 1.09 people visited them last year, skyrocketing from 30,000 in 2008.
Olle has been recognized as being safe enough for a woman to walk alone, with about 80 percent of the visitors being female at the beginning of the opening.
But it is said the paths in the hills and forests, which made Olle popular because they are secluded and quiet, can also become “good” sites for crimes: if a crime takes place, other trekkers may not notice because of thick trees, and cell phones cannot obtain a signal in some sections of the trails.
In November 2010, a woman who slipped and fell from a path was rescued by police three days after the accident. In 2009, an exhibitionist frequently appeared on a track and Jeju Olle, the group developing and managing the courses, asked police to patrol there regularly.
The group and the provincial government have built information centers and toilets for trekkers, but haven’t paid enough attention to security facilities such as surveillance cameras.
Suh Myung-sook, president of the group, announced safety guidelines. She advised visitors not to walk alone or, if they have to, to contact families or friends frequently and tell them their locations.
“We also urge women traveling alone to use women-only lodgings or large-sized ones where security is guaranteed. Trekkers are advised to finish a day’s walking before 6 p.m. They also need to check the courses in advance and avoid steep valleys or cliffs,”Suh said.
She said the group will come up with strengthened security measures jointly with the police and the coast guard, such as surveillance cameras and more frequent patrols.
But travelers are anxious. “I was planning to visit in August but I’m worried. I’ve visited several courses, sometimes with friends and sometimes alone. The beautiful and peaceful paths always made me calm and relaxed, rejuvenating me. Now I don’t know whether I should go or not,” a blogger Kang Seung-jin said on the group’s website.