A young woman anticipating her trip Korea with her best friend had their plans cut short by the South Korean immigration department due to their “unpreparedness”.
In a TikTok video by Hazwani Amira (@beeemyfweeen), she said that she had prepared for her trip to South Korea with her friend who she stated had visited the country a few times already.
“We have prepared the itinerary and printed out the documents such as k-ETA, flight tickets, hotel bookings etc.
“I also renewed my passport after a few years of not travelling out of the country,” she said in her video.
Trouble first brewed when she was getting her information verified by an immigration officer at the Incheon Airport who questioned why she had no “travel history”.
Hazwani then explained to the officer that she had renewed her passport. He followed up by asking her why she was not carrying her old passport, which escalated the issue for the two young women.
“He then asked me to follow another officer to (further look into) the matter. They interviewed us and concluded that we were not well-prepared for this trip,” she stated.
To make things worse, the two girls were stuck in the waiting room for several hours, without being provided any updates about their situation.
Later on, they were instructed to return to Malaysia. But before that, were even made to wait in an area with other foreigners who were unable to speak English till their return flight home.
Their passport was taken away from them hence they could not go anywhere else.
“The last meal that we had was in the plane to Korea and during the flight (back to Malaysia) the next day,” Hazwani added.
Furthermore, both friends’ luggage and passports were held by the South Korean Immigration department until their arrival in Malaysia.
The video also mentioned an allegedly failed attempt at requesting help from the Malaysian embassy to board a flight back on the same day. However, the embassy did assist Hazwani and her friend in other ways.
The young woman in her video also alleged that the South Korean immigration officers “refused to communicate” with the girls and the Malaysian embassy.
Netizens advised the young woman that she should have carried her old passport while others questioned the immigration officers’ inquiry on her travel history after her passport renewal.
Besides that, netizens also shared their similar experiences of being held back by the South Korean immigration from not carrying their old passports to verify their previous travel experiences.
Following the incident, Wisma Putra had reportedly sought out for clarification from the South Korean authorities after meeting the two girls who were denied entry.
“We are obtaining further information from the authorities,“ a source said, confirming the meeting with the individuals who were sent back to Malaysia by the South Korean immigration department.