"Is This Korea or China?" What Udo, Jeju, Looks Like as Chinese Tourists Flock There

[Financial News] A video showing Udo, Jeju Province, as the number of Chinese tourists has surged is spreading across social media and online communities.
On the 11th, online communities shared a video titled "What Is Happening in Jeju These Days? The Latest Look at Jeju, Where Domestic Tourists Have Disappeared," uploaded on the travel YouTube channel Carbo traveler on the 6th.
The video showed large numbers of Chinese tourists aboard ferries bound for Udo and at major tourist attractions. Carbo traveler said, "Almost everyone here is Chinese. There are no Korean tourists, and all I hear is Chinese," adding, "I can't tell whether this is Korea or China."
Store signs in Udo displayed Chinese text in larger lettering than Korean. At a shop selling Udo peanut ice cream, a Chinese person was also seen serving customers.
A local merchant also described the proportion of foreign tourists. The merchant said, "Chinese tourists make up 80% here, while Koreans account for only 20%."
Scenes pointing out the litter problem continued alongside the increase in tourists.
Trash had been discarded in various places along a beach shown in the video. A used baby diaper also appeared to have been left behind.
The YouTuber urged tourists to be more considerate. The YouTuber said, "I don't think local residents would throw things away like this, but tourists need to pay a little more attention," adding, "Foreign tourists, please stop littering so much."
Merchants expressed both expectations and disappointment. Some said, "It is hard to make a living in Udo without Chinese tourists," while also noting, "Korean tourists themselves do not come here very often."
The speaker then expressed disappointment over the decline in domestic tourists. The speaker said, "What was most shocking was seeing such beautiful natural scenery with so few Korean tourists—almost every tourist was Chinese," adding, "It benefits merchants because they can sell more and revive the local economy when foreign tourists come in, but from the residents' perspective, the problem is that too many foreigners are coming in."
The speaker continued, "It is really disappointing," and added, "I wish people from our country would take a little more interest in Jeju than foreign tourists do."
The video spread across several online communities in the form of screenshots.
Meanwhile, Chinese tourists account for a high proportion of foreign visitors to Jeju Province. According to the Jeju Tourism Organization's JEJUTOURISM BIG DATA PLATFORM, 249,035 foreign visitors arrived in Jeju in June this year. Of these, 176,249 were Chinese, accounting for 70.8%.
[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter