5,000 Public Wi-Fi Spots to Be Built Over 3 Years – Free Internet Available Across Jeju Island, South Korea

▲Jeju Island plans to offer free Wi-Fi access across the entire region. (Photo / Provided by the Jeju Office of Tourism Promotion in Taipei)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

Thanks to its convenient location, natural landscapes, and cultural heritage, Jeju Island in South Korea has become a popular tourist destination. In 2015, the island welcomed over 13.6 million visitors, including 19% international travelers. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Government also plans to transform Jeju into a smart tourism island where free Wi-Fi is available throughout the entire region, making it more convenient for overseas tourists.

He Yi-ting, Director of the Jeju Office of Tourism Promotion in Taipei, stated that this free Wi-Fi smart tourism island project was developed with an investment of 22.5 billion KRW by South Korea’s KT Group. Currently, over 520 locations have been set up across the island, totaling 1,246 AP hotspots, with services provided by three major mobile carriers: KT, SKT, and LG U+.

Among the currently installed locations,are tourist attractions such as the Teddy Bear Museum and Yongduam Rock, as well as places like Dongmun Market and Daily Olle Market. Important transportation hubs including Jeju City Intercity Bus Terminal and Seogwipo City Intercity Bus Terminal are also covered, along with frequently visited sites by travelers such as Manjanggul Cave, Sanbangsan Mountain, Lee Joong-seop Art Street, and the Columnar Jointing geological formations.These spots help travelers stay connected at all times, addressing issues such as language barriers and lack of information.

This project aims to install over 5,000 public Wi-Fi locations and more than 8,000 Beacon devices across Jeju Island by 2018. Travelers can simply use their smartphones or tablets to search for “Public WiFi Free” and automatically connect to the webpage. By selecting the wireless network signal icon in the center of the Public WiFi connection screen, they can start using the public wireless internet service.