Foreign tourists dressed in traditional Korean clothing, known as hanbok, stroll through Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul on June 13. Yonhap News Agency
Specific guidelines needed to screen potential illegal immigrants: industry source
Lee Hye-rin
South Korea should introduce more detailed guidelines for immigration authorities to effectively identify potential illegal immigrants among the tourist crowds, tourism industry officials said Monday, essential to address growing complaints from Thai travelers who have been denied entry into South Korea.
If swift action is not taken, they said, anti-Korean sentiment could escalate in Southeast Asian countries.
These comments come amid a travel boycott movement against South Korea in Thailand that has been gaining momentum since late last year. Many Thais have reported being denied entry at South Korean airports despite having been approved with a Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) before leaving the country. South Korea is provisionally allowing travelers from 22 countries to enter the country without registering for a K-ETA until the end of this year, but Thailand has been excluded due to the large number of Thais staying illegally.
Several Tourism Agency officials and interpreters told The Korea Times that the tourism industry has suffered major losses since an online campaign was launched in Thailand last year advising people not to travel to South Korea.
“There haven’t been any private tours from Thailand this year,” said one Thai language interpreter-guide, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I’ve heard that some guides who used to specialize in guiding Thai tourists in Seoul have left the industry due to the decline in tourists,” she added.
Another travel agency representative who specializes in guiding independent travelers, asking not to be named, noted that despite an overall recovery in inbound tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been “zero independent trips” by Thai tourists this year.
The two witnessed several Thai tourists being denied entry after being inspected by South Korean immigration officials.
“There doesn’t seem to be any particular criteria. It seems totally random as to why someone is rejected and others are allowed. They are just tourists who have made all the preparations to explore South Korea, from getting a K-ETA to exchanging money, and yet they are being sent back,” the interpreter said.
“One of my (Thai) friends has never been denied entry and has visited South Korea many times over the past few years, but others continue to be denied entry,” she said, stressing that Thai tourists “may feel unwelcome due to unfair treatment and a sense of insecurity.”
Since last year, Thai users have been sharing their negative experiences with South Korea’s immigration bureau on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, using hashtags in Thai such as “Korea travel ban” and “Korea immigration bureau.”
He said many people choose to visit neighboring countries such as Japan and Taiwan, which offer more affordable visa-free entry and do not deport tourists.
“Traveling to China is now super easy with no visa required! Clean, modern and welcoming to Thai tourists. Why risk Koreans entering?” one Thai online user posted about X, using the hashtag “ban Korea travel”.
“I was accused of bringing a large amount of money (to South Korea) and was relentlessly interrogated as if I was a criminal,” wrote one netizen. Another user shared their experience of being denied entry into the country because they had “traveled to South Korea four times in the past.”
According to statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), about 119,000 Thai tourists visited South Korea between January and April, down 21.1 percent from a year ago. This trend runs counter to an overall recovery in inbound tourism, which saw the total number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea increase by 86.9 percent during the same period.
As a result, Thailand, once one of the top Southeast Asian countries for tourists visiting Korea, has now fallen to third place behind Vietnam and the Philippines.
“Before the online campaign to boycott South Korea emerged, South Korea was in the top three most popular travel destinations for Thais, but those days are over,” Charoen Wangananont, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), told the Bangkok Post.
Charoen believes it will take at least a year or two for South Korea to regain the trust of Thai tourists, and ongoing reports of Thai tourists being denied entry have led many to head to other destinations to avoid strict immigration rules and harsh interrogations.
In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which aims to attract 20 million tourists this year through its Visit Korea 2023-2024 campaign, has seen immigration issues as an obstacle and asked the Ministry of Justice to ease restrictions on Thai tourists and temporarily lift the K-ETA.
However, the Department of Justice argues that implementing such a distinction would be difficult, particularly with respect to the K-ETA exemption.
“The implementation of K-ETA is necessary because visa policies alone have limitations in controlling immigration and preventing illegal overstay,” the ministry told local media recently. “It is extremely important to be cautious about the temporary exemption of K-ETA for countries with high rates of illegal overstay.”
According to the ministry, the number of Thais living illegally in South Korea has nearly tripled from 52,000 in 2015 to 157,000 as of September last year.
Industry insiders fear the trend will lead to increased anti-Korean sentiment and have called on the government to establish a better system for screening suspected illegal immigrants.
“The fundamental problem is that the government has left the definition of illegal entry vague and has not provided precise guidelines” on how to screen potential illegal immigrants, making innocent Thai tourists feel anxious and anxious before they can reach immigration procedures,” said another tourism industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, arguing that the administrative measures could be seen as discriminatory.
“This will not only lead to a decrease in the number of tourists visiting South Korea, but could also further incite anti-South Korean sentiment and have a negative impact on bilateral relations,” he said.
“My clients keep asking me: ‘What are your (country’s) standards? Why are you vetting us? Is this discrimination against our country?’ Unfortunately, I have nothing more to say,” the interpreter said.
Tourism Ministry officials contacted by The Korea Times declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
