Jeju Island Has Potential for Eco Tour

The Korea Times: 13.05.2004
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

JEJU ISLAND - These days, travel is no longer a privilege of the wealthy few and just “going somewhere” means very little. Instead of deciding where to go, it is more important for travelers to determine the purpose of their visit.

“When foreigners visit Korea, there should be a theme or a reason to visit. In the case of Jeju (Cheju), eco tourism can be a motive,” said Victor Ryashentsev, director of Jejueco, a tour agency on Jeju Island.

Ryashentsev is a Russian who studied Korean language in his country and encountered Jeju for the first time when he came to Korea to study the language in 1994. Being attracted by the beauty of Jeju, he has settled in the southern island with his wife since October 2001 and started the travel agency.

“So far, tour packages in Korea for Koreans as well as foreigners have been standardized - visiting famous tourist attractions, shopping, and nothing special,” Ryashentsev said, criticizing Korea’s travel industry. He added that Jeju has been known only as a honeymoon destination with expensive hotels and packages.

Ryashentsev praises the native beauty of Jeju and the need for humans to have interaction with nature to relieve stress. “Jeju’s nature is internationally recognized as one of the unique eco-systems in the world, in 2002 the island was designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve, the third in Korea following Mt. Sorak and Mt. Paektu.

However, the country and the region haven’t properly used or publicized these assets,” he said. The number of annual Koreabound tourists is about three times as many as those heading to New Zealand. Even though the number of visitors is small, the country actively boosts their images focusing on their natural resources, and won the 2004 PATA Grand Award for marketing for its “100 percent Pure New Zealand” campaign, Ryashentsev pointed out.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) held its annual conference on Jeju Island on April 18-22 with more than 2,000 delegates from some 50 countries.

“Now the promotion is the key point of tourism. Jeju doesn’t have any conception yet about why people should visit Jeju. We have to publicize the merits of the island,” he said.

The Russian tour director finds answers from the eco tour. There are people who travel only with the purpose of experiencing nature through scuba diving, tracking, and hiking. Jeju is potentially an attractive destination for these people. Eco tourism also applies to the wellbeing trend, which has swept the world.

There are lots of places in the southern scenic resort island, aside from mass tour groups - a total of 368 ancient parasitic cones called “Orum,” lava seaside, lush subtropical plants, clean sea water and underwater creatures.

“You can find Jeju very different depending on the season - lots of blooming flowers in spring, beautiful beaches and water sports activities in summer, you can still swim in the sea until October in autumn, and fresh tangerine orchards and camellias in winter,” explained the Ryashentsev, who knows the island better than many Koreans.

“Scuba diving can be an especially good activity as there are novel, rare underwater creatures such as soft coral around Saekkisom and Munsom, islets off the southern part of Jeju. We see some countries earn their living only from scuba diving,” he said.

Hiking on Orums or lava seaside trails also provide unexpected landscapes that no one ever thought such movie-like sceneries could exist in this small East Asian country. Seashore and remote islands hiking is also attractive. Visitors can walk on the uncovered ground of the sea at low tide to nearby islands of Sopsom and Sogondo.

“Once experiencing eco tours, even Koreans say they have rediscovered the island. Tourism should turn from quantity tourism to quality, a tour with a purpose,” Ryashentsev said. For more information about eco tours, visit http://www.jejueco.com.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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