More than one hundred South Koreans arrived in Hualien Thursday morning (Oct. 17) while the mayor of the east coast city headed in the other direction on the first direct charter flight to Ulsan, South Korea.
Budget airline Air Busan was responsible for the service, which involved four flights in total, CNA reported. Ulsan is a major industrial city in the southeastern corner of the Korean peninsula. It is also known as a major base of operations for Hyundai Motor Group.
The passengers coming in from Ulsan are staying in Taiwan for four days and three nights, including a night in Hualien City and visits to tourist attractions Taroko Gorge and Qixingtan Beach.
Hualien City Mayor Wei Chia-hsien (魏嘉賢) took 161 people with him to Ulsan, CNA reported, with the aim of visiting major sights and alternative energy projects in the South Korean city and promoting Hualien. The two have been sister cities for 38 years.
After Ulsan, regular direct flights between Hualien and Seoul’s Inchon International Airport, operated by Eastar Jet, will start Oct. 29, seeing three flights a week until Mar. 28, 2020.
On Oct. 26, Sky Angkor Airlines will begin flying charters between Hualien and the Cambodian cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, while talks are underway regarding flights by Mandarin Airlines to Shimojishima, a small island in Japan’s Miyako archipelago, CNA reported.
