Murder, Buses, and Seafood: Improving Chinese Integration on South Korea’s Jeju Island

Abstract

Jeju, a semi-tropical island off the coast of South Korea, has welcomed Chinese investment and tourism to improve its economy and reinforce its semi-independent status from the mainland. However, increasing crime, rising property prices, and a general lack of integration of Chinese migrants into island life have led locals and mainland Koreans to worry that Jeju is losing its identity. The self-governing province faces the dilemma of reducing access at massive economic cost or protecting the natives’ livelihoods and accepting Chinese tourism and migration. This research hopes to contribute to the ongoing debate about the pros and cons of migration, with a focus on the long-term Chinese residents of Jeju Island in an attempt to discover what is preventing their effective integration and whether the Jeju government is missing a simple solution. Findings show the most mentioned inconvenience Chinese residents face is a lack of cultural understanding, second to limited public transportation, and, thirdly, poor verbal communication. If these problems were solved, Chinese residents would find integration easier, the impact of tourism would be diluted, and the economic benefits of Chinese access to Jeju would be more evenly disseminated.