This is especially true for those who do not reside in the capital or other big cities.

This kind of inconvenience was faced by Joo, 26, a South Korean citizen who has spent most of her life in Indonesia. She and her family moved to Indonesia when she was 2 months old and they lived in Bali until she was 18.

“I had to go to Jakarta or South Korea to extend or register for a new passport [while still living in Bali],” Joo told The Jakarta Post recently, explaining the challenges she had to overcome due to the absence of a South Korean mission on the island.

However, such struggles might go away if the South Korean government’s plan to open a consulate in Bali this year materializes. The plan is expected to better accommodate South Korean tourists and residents in the area, as well as promote engagement with Indonesian communities.

According to the Korean Embassy in Jakarta, the consulate will play a vital role as a hub for Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kim Chang-beom said there was an increase of Korean tourists to Bali and the surrounding area, and therefore it was necessary to increase engagement between the Korean government and its citizens rather than depending only on one embassy in Jakarta.

According to embassy data, some 384,000 South Koreans visited Indonesia in 2019, an increase of 7.1 percent from the previous year, of which some 200,000 have chosen Bali as their destination, an increase from 160,000 in 2018.

The new consulate will provide numerous services such as visa issuances, passport services and the protection of Korean nationals in the area.

“But the consulate will also conduct economic [diplomacy] functions to connect the Indonesian and Korean business communities as well as for cultural exchange,” Kim told journalists at a press briefing in Jakarta recently.

As a Korean citizen, Joo has warmed to her government’s plan. “It will help me and my parents a lot as they are still living in Bali, so they will be protected.”

The plan is part of the South Korean government’s agenda to strengthen ties with Indonesia this year. It aspires to increase connectivity, economic partnership and cooperation at the regional and international level with Indonesia.

In terms of increasing connectivity and people-to-people exchange, the South Korean government plans to implement a policy that not only accommodates the needs of its nationals but also Indonesians. Soon, Indonesians will enjoy free visas when they visit Korea’s Jeju Island.

Kim said the plan was currently being prepared and hopefully could be announced next month.

The new policy would also allow Indonesian tourists to visit other cities, such as Seoul and Busan, since there were no direct flights from Jakarta to Jeju. The ambassador asserted that the service would only be available in the form of a group visa, or for tourists whose trips were arranged by a travel agent.

The prioritization of Jeju is because the island is a magnet for some 15 million tourists per year.

Some popular destinations on the island include Hallasan National Park and UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site Geomun Oreum.

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