▲ Construction site next to Iho Teawu Beach

From coast to coast, Jeju Island boasts throngs of Chinese tourists. In fact, for the past five years, the amount of land bought by Chinese nationals has soared by nearly 300 %. Meanwhile, the building of tourism and recreation facilities by Chinese real estate developers continues to raise concerns about eyesores and environmental damage on the island.

All of this influx is not without controversy. For example, local news media and critics in Jeju have occasionally accused Chinese real estate investors of encroaching upon Jeju property. Critics also say that most of the Chinese tourists were brought to Jeju by Chinese tourist agencies; the Chinese tourists not only violate some important Korean social customs for example not smoking in public areas like the streets and restaurants, but often stayed, ate and shopped in Chinese-controlled hotels, restaurants and shopping centers.

In a survey conducted by Jeju Special Self-governing Provincial Council of 1,000 islanders last year, 68 % of people surveyed thought the growing number of Chinese tourists does not help with the overall development of Jeju Island.

Many real estate investors responsible for bringing so many Chinese property investors to Jeju will receive tax benefits and permanent residency in Korea—but they tend to send all of their profits back to their home country, China, rather than pump it back into Jeju’s local economy.

“The real estate investment immigration system is not creating many jobs or having much of a positive effect, and there is a high likelihood that it will lead to real estate speculation,” said Kang Yeong-Sam, an Economics lecturer at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

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