Visitors to Jeju Island have found a simple solution to extortionate car rental prices there -- they bring their own from the mainland.
The cost of renting a compact car on the southern resort island has soared to almost W200,000 a day, so instead around 165,000 cars were ferried to the island in the first half of this year alone, most of them apparently belonging to tourists from the mainland. (US$1=W1,388).
At this rate, more than 300,000 automobiles are expected to be ferried to Jeju this year.
According to the Korean Maritime Transportation Safety Authority earlier this week, 225,000 cars a year arrived on Jeju by ferry before the coronavirus pandemic, and the estimated 30 percent increase is attributed to a growing number of visitors who bring their own instead of paying through the nose for a rental.
One 41-year-old office worker from Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province went to Jeju for his summer holidays in late July and paid W500,000 to have his Hyundai i40 sedan shipped to the island. That still saved him money. "The rental car company charged W1.3 million to borrow a Kia Morning for 10 days saying it was peak season," he pointed out.
Cho Jae-ho (22), a university student who brought his car on a ferry from Mokpo harbor to Jeju said, "I was told it costs W1.5 million to borrow even a small car, so I paid W180,000 to ferry my car over even if that meant four hours of braving sea sickness."
The problem is that the trend hinders efforts to keep the island clean and pristine. Jeju authorities capped the number of rental cars on the island since September 2018 to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. But the number of tourists has surged, so now cars from the mainland contribute to the issue.
Others are put off the island altogether by the price gouging. One 22-year-old college student planned to visit Jeju with his friends in July but Park canceled the trip when he found out the car rental prices.
Another potential visitor said, "Jeju used to be known for more affordable prices, but if it costs W1 million just to rent a car there for five days, you might as well go on holiday abroad."
