South Korea’s Jeju taps Indonesian influencer Anang Hermansyah to restore tourism lustre

Jeju Governor Oh Young-hun proudly unveiled the partnership in a recent Instagram post, touting its potential to revive the province’s fortunes.

“I had a great time with the Anang family, who are very active on social media,” he wrote. “I hope that exchanges between Jeju and Indonesia, as well as many other countries, will become more active.”

Domestic tourist arrivals to the island declined by 8.3 per cent in 2023, dropping from 13.8 million the previous year to just 12.66 million. Meanwhile, foreign visitors surged from around 90,000 to a healthy 710,000 over the same period, according to local media reports citing the Jeju Tourism Association.

With domestic tourists accounting for over 90 per cent of Jeju’s tourism industry, this exodus has dealt a blow to the island’s restaurants, hotels, and golf courses. In fact, more than 200 small-scale accommodation businesses closed down in the first half of this year.

“There are many Korean tourists who believe the expense of domestic tours in Korea is too much, especially compared to overseas trips in Southeast Asia, given the exotic value of visits to foreign countries,” said Jaemun Byun, an associate professor at Sejong University’s department of hospitality and tourism management.

In short, travellers have been doing cost-value assessments, and Jeju is struggling to compete with the lure of international travel.

Jeju may have also suffered a reputational blow from a particularly unsavoury scandal – the revelation that one of the island’s famous black pork speciality restaurants was serving substandard, excessively fatty meat.

An anonymous tourist’s viral social-media post showcasing the questionable pork belly, alleged to contain a staggering 98 per cent fat, has hurt the