Korea awakens to ill effects of China-first tourism policy

By Choi Sung-jin

It has been quite a while since Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, became a Chinese quarter, with streets covered with Chinese-character signboards and the air filled with touting in Mandarin. "I feel like some unwelcome alien in my own country," a Korean visitor said Saturday.

The Korean tourism industry's dependency on Chinese visitors, called youke, stood at 35.5 percent in 2013 but jumped to 48.8 percent in the first eight months of this year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. In the case of Jeju-do, 85.5 percent of foreign tourists who visited the southern resort island last year were Chinese.

The Bank of Korea also has warned against undue reliance on Chinese tourists, calling for the industry to reduce the number to at least 25 percent, as with Japan.

The potential risk of excessive reliance on one country is huge. Any policy change in Beijing can shake up the very foundation of the tourism industry.

The number of Japanese visitors to Korea, for instance, has tumbled since former President Lee Myung-bak visited the Dokdo Islets in 2012 and is yet to return to the level of its best years. If the Chinese government changes its policy because of chilling bilateral relationships, as seen by the recent conflict over the deployment of U.S. antimissile system here, a serious crisis may hit the nation's tourism sector, industry insiders say.

"Most newly built hotels, shopping centers and duty-free stores in Korea have had Chinese tourists in mind, and a horrible consequence will follow if the China market crumbles," said a tour agent. Because most Chinese come to Korea on cheap package tours, they offer little incentive to upgrade the domestic infrastructure, such as service quality and various facilities, experts say. Another problem is the relative neglect of tourists from other countries because the industry's attention is on China.

The solution is simple, albeit not easy _ diversify the tourism market.

"The current trend of Chinese tourists taking up an overwhelming majority will likely continue for the time being," said Professor Kim Nam-jo of Hanyang University. "It is good for the industry to try to enlarge market size but more important is to diversify it and reduce risks."

Most urgent was the need to expand the Indian market and the Muslim market in Southeast Asia as well as restoring the Japanese market, Kim said.

The adverse effects that Chinese tourists have on Korea are not limited to economic damage.

After the recent murder of a Korean woman praying at a Catholic church by a Chinese visitor in Jeju Province, some residents said such an accident had been long anticipated but came a little earlier and in more gruesome way than expected.

"Since the incident, I feel scared when Chinese tourists reeking of alcohol enter my store," said a woman running a supermarket in Jeju City. A housewife also said she had told her daughter to avoid Chinese people since the murder. "I am frightened to run into a Chinese man in a back alley," she said.

Even before the incident, many Jeju residents had harbored ill feelings against some ugly and disorderly guests from the neighboring country. It has become all too common to find Chinese men going around bare-chested in summer. Others try to take away rocks by breaking them with stones.

The number of Chinese tourists committing crimes in the island province increased from 58 in 2011 to 260 in 2015, and, in the first eight months of this year, the number has reached last year's total, up 66.1 percent from a year ago.

The types of crime have become diverse, including murder, robbery, theft, violence, fraud and interference with business. The criminal acts are also increasingly violent. Early this month, a female restaurant owner suffered a brain hemorrhage when a group of Chinese tourists beat her after she tried to discourage them from drinking wine brought from outside. Three other people were also injured.

Some Jeju residents held a protest rally, calling for the provincial administration to come up with measures to reduce Chinese tourists' disorderly behavior.

Other people are concerned that the growing antipathy against some problematic visitors could spread to the Chinese community as a whole. "Particularly since the murder incident, the sense of anger and crisis felt by residents here is different from before," said Choi Kwang-il, a civic activist. "We should take care not to allow the ongoing atmosphere to lead to hostility toward Chinese immigrants and short-term visitors as a whole."

Some experts say now is the time for the central and provincial governments to review their policies favoring China.

For example, 646,188 foreigners have entered Korea in the first eight months of this year under the visa waiver system, which allows foreign visitors to stay on the island for up to 30 days without visas, and 99 percent of them were Chinese. It also has led to the sharp increase in the number illegal sojourners to around 8,000, making it difficult for police to detect suspects. The Chinese murder suspect also came to Korea without a visa.

The investment immigration system, which gives permanent residency to foreigners who invest $500,000 or more and live on the island for five years, has also resulted in reckless development and environmental destruction, the experts say.

A Jeju provincial official acknowledged various adverse effects.

"We also feel embarrassed with the recent series of crimes and incidents, but easing of entry procedures is a common trend in other countries," said the official, wanting to remain anonymous. "We will take supplementary measures after examining the effects on tourism, economy and diplomacy and in consultation with the central government."