Jeju, a famous tourist island in South Korea, has for many years applied a visa-free policy for Vietnamese visitors if they fly charter or transit in a third country. Otherwise, they are required to apply for a visa.
To take advantage of the visa exemption policy, Singapore is the most feasible transit point for Vietnamese tourists because there are direct flights to Jeju from here. However, flying with Scoot Airlines, the only airline that flies directly to Jeju from Singapore, is risky because tourists can be refused transportation due to "suspected travel purposes".
The safest and most certain way is for visitors to apply for a Korean visa, then transit at Incheon airport (Seoul capital) or another big city like Busan... Here, there are many domestic airlines that go directly to Jeju such as Jin Air, Jeju Air, Air Seoul, Air Busan, T'way Air, Asiana Airlines, Korean Air...
South Korea's popular tourist island is facing a growing number of tourists staying illegally after their trip. Photo: Visit Jeju
Ms. Le Hai Linh, representative of the Jeju Tourism Promotion Agency in Vietnam, also advised Vietnamese tourists to "go through Incheon airport and then transfer to Jeju" for easier entry. Ms. Linh said that tourists can also use the services of reputable travel companies such as Vietravel, Vietrantour, Saigontourist... to register for tours to Jeju Island. However, according to a representative of Vietravel Hanoi, currently, large travel companies in Vietnam usually only organize tours from Seoul to Jeju and do not have direct routes from Vietnam under visa exemption because of concerns about cases not for tourism purposes.
Charter flights are currently not feasible because the number of passengers after the pandemic is low and tickets are expensive. Immigration procedures cannot be guaranteed either.
Ms. Le Hai Linh once again affirmed that the recent refusal of Vietnamese passengers to fly under the visa exemption form was entirely due to the airline's initiative: "Jeju has not changed any policy. Scoot Airlines' cancellation of passengers' tickets is the airline's own decision, because if passengers are not allowed to enter the country, the airline will have to bear many additional costs. The case of not being allowed to enter Jeju is due to each situation when completing procedures. Recently, many tourists around the world have stayed illegally."
Ms. Linh added that Jeju is working with airlines and travel companies in Vietnam to promote direct flights to Jeju and soon develop the Jeju - Vietnam route.
Since early August, many Vietnamese tourist groups traveling to Jeju Island via Scoot Airlines have had their tickets canceled because they did not have visas. This arose when South Korea was tightening border controls due to an increasing number of Thai and Mongolian tourists arriving in Jeju and then fleeing to the mainland to work illegally.
