Why is the wave of Thailand boycotting Korean tourism rising?

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is working to address the entry issue as Thai citizens are denied travel to South Korea due to what it says is unnecessarily strict immigration screening.

"The KTO branch in Thailand has notified the authorities about the damage and has consulted with relevant agencies (to resolve the issue)," according to South Korean newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily .

South Korea is among the top destinations for Thai tourists.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the government will assign relevant agencies to look into the issue of Thai citizens repeatedly being deported by South Korean immigration authorities after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The Bangkok Post reported that the incident peaked when a Thai woman with influence on social media on October 24 started the wave. In the post, she said she had been to South Korea four times but was denied entry the most recent time despite having a return ticket and pre-booked tours and accommodations.

The post has so far received over 9.3 million views and 22,000 retweets.

"Korea is a place with K-Pop and is rich but the way of thinking of the people is backward. Koreans are racist towards Thai people," said another post with more than 1 million views.

The incident became more intense when many Thai citizens shared their negative experiences of being harassed by Korean immigration on social media.

Since then, hashtags boycotting South Korean tourism such as #BanTraveltoSouthKorea and #Koreanimmigrationoffice in Thai have trended in Thailand, even reaching the top trending hashtag.

Some compared South Korea with other destinations that also offer visa-free travel to Thai citizens, such as Japan and Taiwan, saying they would go to these two destinations to avoid travel costs and wasted time.

A growing number of stories shared by deported tourists and those brought into interview rooms have raised concerns about discrimination against Thais by South Korean immigration offices.

Searching by hashtag on X (Twitter) shows posts from Thai users saying they were deported after being banned from entering the country or were taken to a private room to be questioned with "embarrassing" questions, even though they had all the documents, schedules... "I really regret buying a plane ticket and spending money to travel to Korea. I advise you to visit other countries instead of coming to Korea," a Thai person shared.

Charoen Wangananont, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said the stricter screening process was due to a growing number of Thai citizens overstaying their visas or working illegally in South Korea.

Thais who lost their jobs during the pandemic flocked to South Korea after the border reopened. At some points, the number of illegal workers entering through visa-free privileges was higher than the number of actual tourists, he said.

Many speculate the deportations are due to the large number of Thai citizens who enter South Korea on tourist visas but end up working there illegally in the agriculture , accommodation and manufacturing sectors.

Foreign tourists wear Korean costumes when traveling to this country.

South Korea and Thailand will soon hold consular talks to discuss recent complaints by Thai nationals about unfair treatment by South Korean immigration authorities, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The two sides have agreed to hold talks between their top leaders in charge of consular affairs.

However, the South Korean Justice Ministry stressed the need to screen potential illegal immigrants, noting that about 78 percent of all visitors from Thailand are currently staying in the country illegally.

According to KTO, 250,000 Thai tourists visited South Korea in the first eight months of this year. Thais can enter South Korea without a visa and stay for up to 90 days. In a survey, South Korea ranked among the top five destinations for Thai tourists.

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