About 10,000 S. Koreans visited southern resort island of Jeju for 'workcation' in 2023: data

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[YONHAP PHOTO]

SEOUL -- Data released by the Jeju provincial government, about 10,000 South Koreans sought to spend their holidays in the southern resort island Jeju through "workation," a type of vacation where a person could go about his or her individual activities while fulfilling his work responsibilities.

The idea of remote working or working away from the office was recognized as a Western work culture in South Korea before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in early 2020. When the government adopted strict quarantine guidelines to prevent the spread of the infectious disease, about 70 percent of companies decided to have their employees work remotely at home.

Although the culture of remote working was not fully embraced by South Korean workers immediately after companies brought their employees back to the office following the normalization of the pandemic situation, many people have realized that, thanks to the nationwide web of super-fast mobile communication networks, they can "take" their office to a more preferable place if the situation allows.

The Jeju provincial government said that 9,760 workers based outside of the island used 16 private office facilities. The office facilities are operated based on private vouchers that are purchased by companies and handed out to workers. Some working people bought the workation coupon individually. The local government estimated that some extra one thousand people spent their workation at Jeju by using other co-working spaces and studios.

Jeju provides vouchers of up to 520,000 won (3) for workers based in other parts of the country to spend their workation on the island. The voucher can be used to pay for accommodation, office space, and leisure activities.

A recent survey of 1,112 working people, conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October and November, also showed that Jeju is South Korea's favorite workation destination. 31. 8 percent chose Jeju as their most preferred destination.