Israel-Hamas war takes toll on S.Korean pilgrims

The war in Israel and Gaza, which has paralyzed some parts of the Middle East, is also set to put a complete stop to South Koreans’ tours of the biblical Holy Land, which have gradually revived since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Korean tourism industry on Thursday, local travel agencies have been canceling their pilgrimage tour programs to Israel since Monday as war has erupted following the militant group Hamas’ surprise attack on civilians in the country over the weekend.

Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday issued a special travel advisory on Israel due to the war and urged South Korean nationals to leave the affected region.

GIven the fact that the Korean government only issues a special travel advisory in cases of urgent security risk to travelers and can maintain the order for up to 90 days, Korean travel agencies are concerned that their pilgrimage tour programs will be suspended longer than expected.

“I think our (pilgrimage travel) business has come to an end for this year,” said the president of a Korean travel agency specializing in faith tourism. “We are keeping an eye on how long the (current situation) will last.”

The Korean religious travel market is estimated at 300 billion won ($222 million) per annum, and the local tourism industry projects the market to shrink to almost half its size this year due to the abrupt geopolitical and humanitarian crisis in Israel and nearby countries, the most popular spiritual tour destination among Koreans.

In particular, autumn and winter are considered the prime faith tour seasons for Korean pilgrims.  

Before the global pandemic hit, in 2019 some 86.7% of Korean travelers to Israel visited between January and March, or between October and December.

CHRISTIANITY, THE BIGGEST RELIGION IN KOREA

The Korean religious tourism market has been gradually recuperating from COVID-19 after it remained mostly shut down during the pandemic. Israel also reopened for tourists in January 2022.

Some expect the market could recover rapidly next year if the war ends this year, considering that Korean pilgrims tend to be more eager to travel to sacred places around the world than ordinary outbound travelers to other general places.

Koreans’ demand for spiritual tourism has been steady and even expanding significantly in recent years despite the high cost.

According to the Korean travel industry, it costs about 5 million won on average per person for a seven to 13-day pilgrimage in Israel.

Visitors to Israel more than doubled to 60,400 in 2019 from 28,000 in 2013, according to data from the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Tourism Organization.

The majority of Korean pilgrims are those in their 50s and 60s with strong purchasing power, but those in their 20s and 30s have recently started showing greater interest in such trips, boding well for the Korean pilgrimage tour industry, said an official from Israel Tourism Board’s Seoul office.

Israel is at the center of Koreans’ spiritual trips because of its many holy sites, including the Church or the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be built on the site where Jesus was crucified and his burial place, as well as the Garden Tomb, the place marking the site of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The largest religion in South Korea is Christianity, explaining the popularity of pilgrimage tours in the Asian country. 

Of the country’s 52 million population, 49% claimed affiliation with a religion and 51% none, according to a monthly religion survey by Hankook Research as of November 2022. Of those with a religious affiliation, 31% said they were Christian – 20% Protestant and 11% Roman Catholic.

The country has pilgrimage-focused travel agencies such as Galilee Tours, Rothem Tour, Korea Tour and Soul Trip. The country’s major tour agencies Hanatour Service Inc. and Modetour Network Inc. also offer faith tour programs.

Korean flag carriers have temporarily suspended their flights to Israel, joining other countries’ airlines. Korean Air Lines Co. on Monday grounded its flight to Tel Aviv, Israel scheduled to depart from Incheon International Airport on the same day.

The Korean flag carrier, however, sent a special carrier to evacuate about 200 short-term Korean residents in Israel on Tuesday in cooperation with the Korean foreign ministry.

As of early this week, 570 South Koreans in Israel were identified as long-term residents, and about 480 short-term visitors.

The militant group Hamas ambushed civilians in a surprise attack in Israel on Saturday with rockets, guns and missiles. In retaliation, the Israeli government has been carrying out military strikes, with heavy aerial bombardment reducing Gaza City to rubble.

The war in Israel and Gaza has left more than 2,600 people, including many civilians, dead since the violence erupted over the weekend.

Write to Mi-Kyoung Lee at capital@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.