“I Dozed Off in a Taxi, but When I Opened My Eyes, I Was in a Reed Field” — Jeju YouTuber Raises Visa-Free Entry System Concerns Amid Crime Fears

[Financial News] A YouTuber living in Jeju Province has expressed anxiety about crime and public safety in Jeju Province.
The YouTuber, who has about 70,000 subscribers, recently uploaded a video to the channel titled “Why Do I Feel So Anxious? The Real Public Safety Situation in Jeju, According to a Jeju Resident.”
In the video, the YouTuber first introduced a taxi-related incident allegedly experienced by a friend of an acquaintance. According to the account, a woman took a taxi home after drinking in the early morning and fell asleep in the back seat. When she woke up, however, the taxi had stopped in a remote reed field rather than heading toward her home.
The YouTuber claimed, “Her home was in the opposite direction, but she had been drinking in the early morning and took a taxi. She fell asleep in the taxi because she was tired, but after some time, she opened her eyes and looked outside to find a reed field.” The YouTuber added, “The car was stopped, and the taxi driver had gotten out and was talking on the phone with someone in front of the car. When she looked around, all she could see were reeds, according to the account.”
The woman, feeling alarmed, got out of the taxi while the driver was on the phone, fled through the reed field, and reported the incident to police, according to the YouTuber. “That friend is also a Jeju resident, but in any case, people need to be careful,” the YouTuber warned.
The YouTuber also recounted a personal experience involving a dispute with a Chinese family at a restaurant in Jeju Province. The YouTuber said an argument broke out after the family at a neighboring table, who had been listening to a conversation about political and social issues in South Korea between the YouTuber and the restaurant owner, protested.
The YouTuber said the family then left the restaurant without paying for the food they had ordered, adding, “If they ordered pajeon, shouldn’t they have paid before leaving? They ate the food and left without paying.” The YouTuber claimed to have paid the bill for the family’s food instead.
The YouTuber also mentioned a violent crime that actually occurred in Jeju Province in the past. In September 2016, a woman in her 60s who was praying at a cathedral in Jeju City was stabbed to death by a Chinese man. The man had entered Jeju under the Visa-Free Entry System before stabbing the woman, who had been praying alone at the cathedral. She was taken to a hospital but ultimately died.
At the same time, the YouTuber expressed concern about crimes committed by exploiting the Visa-Free Entry System. “There have also been cases in Jeju Province where people exploited the visa-free entry system, scouted locations in advance, and then robbed gold and jewelry stores,” the YouTuber said, emphasizing, “Penalties should be strengthened when foreigners commit crimes.”
However, the YouTuber clarified that some of the cases introduced were not personally experienced but were stories heard from people nearby. The specific circumstances of the incidents and the results of any investigations were not independently confirmed.
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter