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By Micah McCartney
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South Korean officials said Tuesday that they are searching for over three dozen Vietnamese tourists who vanished last month shortly before their scheduled return, local media reported.
The missing tourists were part of a group of 90 who arrived at South Korea's premier resort island, Jeju, after departing the southern Vietnamese city of Nha Trang on a chartered flight operated by VietJet Air on November 14.
The visitors were traveling under a visa-free program that allows nationals from Vietnam and 64 other countries to stay on Jeju Island for up to 30 days. This means the group had until December 14 to remain there legally, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency cited immigration officials as saying.
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However, before their journey home, 38 members of the group vanished during the final stop of their itinerary, leaving only 52 passengers to board the return flight. Authorities have been reviewing surveillance camera footage in their efforts to locate the missing tourists.
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Newsweek reached out by email to the Jeju Tourism Organization and the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry for comment.
The tourists' disappearance is similar to a case from December 2018 in Taiwan. In that incident, four tourist groups of Vietnamese nationals—153 individuals in total—arrived in Taiwan through the port city of Kaohsiung. Shortly after their arrival, they vanished, leaving only their tour guide behind.
Reports at the time cited local police saying that some of the missing tourists had been seen quickly leaving their hotels with luggage in tow and boarding shuttle buses and taxis.
Taiwanese authorities suspected human trafficking and worked extensively with local law enforcement to track the missing visitors. By December 31 of that year, 14 had been apprehended, while nine others had turned themselves in.
Vietnamese nationals have often been involved in voluntary smuggling operations to various Asian countries, frequently motivated by the pursuit of better economic opportunities. Smuggling networks are known to organize their transportation, which sometimes leads to dangerous situations.
In one tragic example, a road accident near the China-Vietnam border in November 2022 resulted in 11 fatalities, including nine Vietnamese citizens.
Jeju Island, often called "the Hawaii of Asia," sits about 50 miles south of the Korean Peninsula. It is South Korea's most celebrated tourist destination, famous for its volcanic landscapes, beaches and unique cultural attractions.
In 2022, Jeju drew approximately 13.89 million visitors, with domestic tourists in the majority. However, the first half of 2023 saw a 784 percent increase in foreign visitors, particularly from China, signaling the island's growing appeal on the international stage.
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