No man is an island, but if he lives on Jeju, he's finally getting free delivery

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No man is an island, but if he lives on Jeju, he's finally getting free delivery

Published: 27 Jun. 2025, 07:00

CHO YONG-JUN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A Coupang delivery vehicle in Jeju [COUPANG]

Delivery, whether it be food, clothing or other products, is generally fast in Korea: A relatively small country paired with high population density and steep competition resulted in two-day delivery, next-day delivery and even same-day delivery service within a large portion of the country.

Jeju, however, is one big exception. The scenic southern island, despite having over 670,000 residents, rarely benefits from the fast delivery services available in other parts of the country. In fact, delivery to Jeju most often results in extra delivery fees of 3,000 won ($2.20) or 5,000 won on top of the regular fee. A 2023 search conducted by the Green Consumer Network in Jeju showed that residents spend 6.1 times more on delivery fees compared to those who live in other parts of Korea.

Residents of the island have been living with the inconvenience and annoyance for decades, but now major e-commerce players like Coupang and AliExpress are marching into the long-disadvantaged area by offering next-day delivery and free delivery, even from China.

Coupang's Rocket Delivery lands on the island

Coupang, most famous for its same-day or next-day delivery service, Rocket Delivery — similar to Prime Delivery offered by Amazon — began offering the service in Jeju after opening distribution centers on the island in 2020. While the product range is naturally more limited, it does offer free delivery to the subscribers of Coupang WOW, priced at 7,890 won a month. The company also started Rocket Fresh — equivalent to Amazon Fresh — starting in February to deliver refrigerated and frozen products as well as produce.

“Rocket Delivery is inseparable from my life in Jeju,” said Park Jong-hoon, a 30-year-old civil servant who moved to Jeju for work-life balance and to pursue his hobby in water sports. “We even purchase office supplies and snacks using Coupang, and due to the differences in delivery cost, I don’t bother checking other e-commerce sites.”

Ko Eun-bi, a 27-year-old from Jeju, also said she “always” searches Coupang first before checking other sites when purchasing products in Jeju.

A screenshot from AliExpress's K-venue page shows that Pepsi Cola bottles can be delivered to Seogwipo, Jeju, without an extra delivery fee. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Free delivery to Jeju from China

More recently, AliExpress became a viable option for the islanders as it — perhaps ironically — offers free delivery service to Jeju while other Korean e-commerce platforms do not. Free delivery offered on smaller and inexpensive items on AliExpress is completed through the postal service, with Korea Post in charge of last-mile delivery, per the Universal Postal Union Convention.

As AliExpress began aggressively entering the Korean market, vowing to invest 1.5 trillion won in the country in 2024, the Chinese e-commerce giant began to affect Jeju, too. While the company is yet to own a distribution center within Korea, the five-day delivery service and its K-Venue submarket, which has Korean sellers targeting local customers, all offer free delivery to Jeju.

Ko said that AliExpress is her go-to due to the free delivery even for products being sent from China, adding, “I often use AliExpress to buy Chinese-made products as they are cheaper than the ones offered on Korean websites."

"AliExpress' commitment is to not have differentiated delivery fees, regardless of region," AliExpress told the Korea Joongang Daily, adding that the seller might have to talk to the buyer if the delivery fee far exceeds the product price.

Daiso and local government try to help out, too

To offer convenience that completely avoids the hassle of delivery, Daiso, the dollar store prevalent across the country, also became a favorite in Jeju, as the budget offline retailer acts as a go-to stop for cheap items that won't incur a crazy delivery fee. Things like USB charging cables and smaller household items are much better to buy from Daiso, as buying online would often force consumers to purchase in bulk to offset the high delivery cost.

The products sold in Daiso branches in Jeju are also identical in price compared to all other Daiso stores, according to the company.

Jeju’s local government, for its part, has been engaging in a support service that pays back the additional delivery fee to the residents of the island. The service, which began last year, pays up to 400,000 won per person per year, upon request.

The reception seems to be mixed: Longtime Jeju residents with good knowledge of the policy will utilize the refund, using Coupang's free delivery to get their basic needs and applying for local government payback if they have to buy something from another site. Jeju's local government told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Thursday that 770 million won was paid out through the initiative since the service began in March.

The cumbersome application process still stops more Jeju residents from using the service, especially when the scheme is not open to foreign nationals, even if they legally work on the island, according to the local government.

“I’ve never applied for it because I don’t buy anything with an extra delivery fee anyway,” Park said.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]