Ulleung Island residents bemoan ferry stoppages as tourism slows after price-gouging allegations
Published: 16 Sep. 2025, 14:10
Updated: 16 Sep. 2025, 17:47
![A bird’s-eye view of Ulleung Island on May 15, 2023 [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/16/96026fdf-57b0-4368-b53e-9421ba63fd03.jpg)
A bird’s-eye view of Ulleung Island on May 15, 2023 [YONHAP]
Residents of Ulleung Island are raising their voices as passenger ferry services remain suspended amid a sharp drop in tourism following recent price-gouging controversies.
“The ferry from Hupo is gone, the one from Gangneung will soon be gone, and the Eldorado is already out of service. Who is responsible? At this rate, residents will all suffer. Please take swift action," one writer wrote in a post on the Ulleung County Office website earlier this month.
As the post noted, Sunflower Cruise, which operated the route from Hupo-myeon in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang, to Ulleung, halted service this month due to mechanical issues and financial difficulties. The Eldorado Express has also been out of service since April.
The Ulleung County Council and Uljin County Council began discussing countermeasures last month.
“Marine transport is an essential public service for the residents of Ulleung. We will make every effort to establish a sustainable passenger ferry system,” Council Chair Lee Sang-sik said.
Bae Sang-yong, head of a research institute for Ulleung development, also posted on the county website, urging action from the central government.
He wrote that "the government should reintroduce passenger capacity regulations scrapped after the Sewol ferry disaster, raise the bar for new route approvals, and help existing ferry operators strengthen their competitiveness."
Bae added that the best solution would be a quasi-public ferry operation, where the county owns the routes, selects operators through an open and transparent process, guarantees a reasonable profit margin, and maintains a sufficient number of ferries.
“Only when operators can turn a profit can Ulleung become a complete tourist destination,” he wrote.
![A screenshot from a YouTube video shows pork belly with a large portion of fat served at a restaurant on Ulleung Island. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/16/163ecc6c-de1f-4f68-9b8b-fc547b785320.jpg)
A screenshot from a YouTube video shows pork belly with a large portion of fat served at a restaurant on Ulleung Island. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
The number of visitors to Ulleung Island has fallen steadily, according to the county. Tourist arrivals dropped from 461,375 in 2022 to 408,204 in 2023 and to 380,521 in 2024. In the first seven months of this year, 209,006 people visited the island, down 9.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
While the increase in overseas travel since the pandemic is partly to blame, some say Ulleung’s reputation for overcharging tourists has worsened the problem.
In July, a YouTuber went viral after sharing a video showing that half the pork belly he ordered at a local restaurant was fat. He posted about other issues, such as lodging facilities without air conditioning. Viewers responded with similar experiences, fueling online criticism of Ulleung’s tourism industry.
Ulleung County Mayor Nam Han-kwon posted a statement on the county website July 23, saying, “We express our sincere apologies regarding the recent issues over tourism service quality and pricing that were shared online. We will implement strong and lasting measures to prevent such problems from recurring.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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