[Outdated Infrastructure Hinders Foreign Tourists]
Only Six More Immigration Officers Despite Airport Expansion
Authorities Rely on Automated Immigration
"Manual Screening Needed to Prevent Illegal Stay and Terrorism"
"This is my first time visiting Korea to see my Korean girlfriend, and I had to wait 30 minutes in the immigration line. I'm already exhausted at the start of my trip." (Andreas, 30, from Greece)
Although some improvements have been made to the immigration procedures at Incheon International Airport, which caused inconvenience last year due to waiting lines that exceeded two to three hours, complaints about discomfort persist. As global interest in K-culture continues to grow, fueled by works such as the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters," there are increasing calls to further refine the immigration system at Incheon Airport.
On January 24, just before the Lunar New Year holiday including the temporary public holiday, travelers visiting Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 were lining up to get their boarding passes. Incheon International Airport Corporation projected that a total of 2,141,000 passengers, averaging 214,000 per day, would use the airport during the 10-day special traffic control period for the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
According to a survey of inbound tourists by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute released on September 24, "immigration procedures" have been identified for two consecutive years (2023-2024) as an area in need of improvement to attract more foreign visitors in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. Satisfaction with immigration procedures was recorded at 88.2% in 2023 and 88.1% last year. While these figures are high compared to overseas airports, they still lag behind other travel infrastructure.
Park Geunhwa, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, said, "Satisfaction with travel infrastructure such as public safety, internet, transportation, and guides exceeds 90%, but immigration procedures remain in the 80% range, indicating the need for improvement." She added, "There were also responses that when Chinese group tourists and others arrive at the same time, waiting times increase, highlighting the need for more staff."
According to statistics from the Ministry of Justice, about 1.15 million foreigners visited Korea last year, averaging more than 30,000 per day. Andreas, a 30-year-old Greek national met at Incheon Airport on September 18, said, "This is my first visit to Korea, but I was already tired at the start of my trip because of the long immigration line. The directional signs were confusing, so I ended up at the back of the line and had to wait about 30 minutes."
Tanaka, a 25-year-old Japanese student who was about to return home, said, "I heard that foreigners can use Incheon Airport's Smart Pass (a service that allows you to pass through the departure hall and boarding gate with facial recognition), so I prepared in advance for a quicker departure, but even the Smart Pass line was not short, which surprised me."
Complaints about Incheon Airport can also be found on the Korea topic board of the global online community Reddit. From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, when airport congestion was particularly severe, posts included, "Incheon Airport claims to be 'the place where you greet the world,' but in reality, there are massive lines," and "Not only was there a delay in check-in, but security screening alone almost took two to three hours."
The ongoing dissatisfaction stems from a sharp increase in airport users while the number of immigration officers has remained unchanged. Last year, the number of international passengers at Incheon Airport (including transit passengers) rose 26.7% from the previous year to 70.67 million. With the fourth-phase expansion of Terminal 2, the airport's passenger capacity increased from 77 million to 106 million.
To keep up with the increase in tourists and the expansion of Terminal 2, the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to add 200 immigration officers, but only six were added this year. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is reported to believe that "activating automated immigration will suffice," but on-site feedback indicates that automation alone cannot resolve airport congestion.
Currently, the usage rate of automated immigration is only around 7-8%. Only foreign nationals from five countries-the United States, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Germany-are eligible. Even then, it is not easy to use. Americans must pay a fee of $100 (about 138,780 won), and nationals of the other countries must either be registered foreigners or have registered for the service at the airport during a previous visit to Korea.
It is also not possible to arbitrarily expand the list of eligible countries for automated immigration. A government official explained, "Automated immigration is based on diplomatic reciprocity, so the other country must also open automated immigration for Koreans. Since immigration screening plays a role in preventing illegal stay and terrorism, we cannot rely solely on automated immigration."
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