Indonesian passport holders don’t really have much in the way of visa-free privileges. The beautiful South Korean island of Jeju offered that privilege, but now it’s been taken away from us — for now, at least.
Travel restrictions are becoming quite the norm amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, with South Korea being among those who has recently decided to temporarily roll back visa waivers for tourists.
The suspension of visa waivers for foreign nationals, which has been enforced since Tuesday, is also affecting Indonesians, as they’re among 180 nationalities who are entitled to visa-free entry to Jeju Island, according to the Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC) website. Indonesian tourists who wish to visit Jeju Island must apply for a Korean visa through KVAC for the time being.
In addition, the South Korean government has also suspended Jeju visa waivers for transit passengers departing from China. Any foreigners who visited or stayed in the Hubei Province — the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak — within the last 14 days are also not permitted to enter South Korea.
This change of regulation was made by South Korea’s Ministry of Justice and is applicable until further notice.
This development comes less than a month after the South Korean government said it was mulling expanding the privileges of Indonesian tourists so they can visit the likes of Seoul and Busan as part of their visa-free Jeju trip.
South Korea has been aiming to attract even more Indonesian tourists to its shores. Based on official data, around 278,000 Indonesian tourists visited South Korea in 2019, showcasing an increase of more than 11% compared to the previous year.
Likewise, South Korean tourists visiting Indonesia also increased by about seven percent, or around 384,000 last year.
Jeju Island — a scenic island in the Jeju Province, situated in the Korea Strait right below the Korean Peninsula — is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, attracting around 15 million tourists annually.
Several popular destinations on the island include the central peak Mount Hallasan, Jeju Teddy Bear Museum, Manjanggul Lava Tube, Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls, sex-themed sculpture park Loveland, as well as Seongsan Ilchulbong or “Sunrise Peak,” a tuff cone recognized in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
