For years, e-commerce in Jeju Island was associated with two major inconveniences—slow delivery times and expensive shipping fees. The residents of Jeju simply accepted these issues as the cost of living on an island separated from the mainland.  

In 2020, however, all that changed. Coupang opened two delivery camps in Jeju’s two largest cities, Jeju City and Seogwipo. For the first time, Jeju residents experienced the same transformative next-day deliveries that other Korean customers were able to take for granted. And with WOW membership, they could get unconditional free Rocket Delivery, 30-day free returns, and many more exclusive benefits. 

“If you order items in Jeju from other regions, the shipping costs can be nearly 5,000 won, so it’s expensive,” said Seung-joon Han, a student at Jeju National University. “You also had to wait at least three or four days, but with Coupang, your order arrives the next day. Now that I’m used to Coupang, it would be very inconvenient not to have Rocket Delivery.”  

Seung-joon Han

As a student, Seung-joon typically buys school supplies, and he finds the wide selection available on Coupang liberating. “There are many items that were hard to find in Jeju versus in Seoul, but now you can just order them on Coupang. I bought a Bluetooth speaker, for example, but I don’t know where I would buy something like that in Jeju.” 

Yumi Kim

For working mom Yumi Kim, WOW membership and next-day Rocket Delivery have been huge blessings. “It takes a long time to get home after work,” she said, “then I have to prepare dinner and so on.” Because Jeju is an island, going out to shop for daily necessities can be a multi-hour endeavor—but that’s no longer the case thanks to Coupang. “If I buy baby goods from home with Coupang, they will be delivered to my house right away when I need them. Coupang sells baby food, milk powder, diapers, baby clothes, and even baby furniture, so I can take care of almost everything at once on Coupang.”  

She added, “Since I’m in Jeju, Rocket Delivery is the biggest advantage. But as a WOW member, I also use Coupang Play very frequently. I can’t watch TV during the day because I’m watching my baby, but once he’s asleep, I catch up on movies and dramas I haven’t seen on Coupang Play.” 

Meanwhile, for Residents of Udo, a remote island located 3.5 kilometers off the northeast coast of Jeju, Coupang’s launch of its Jeju delivery camps has brought a level of convenience they couldn’t even imagine just a few years ago. Because Udo has no airports, online deliveries typically arrive first in Jeju and then must be shipped again by boat to Udo, resulting in even longer delivery times and higher shipping costs than on Jeju. Now, however, even Udo residents can experience the magic of next-day Rocket Delivery.  

“There are many inconveniences with using other delivery companies, and they didn’t even deliver to my house,” said Jung-hwan Yoon, a resident of Udo. “Once the packages arrived at the port, I had to go and pick it up myself.” These kinds of inconveniences disappeared with the arrival of Rocket Delivery. “If I use Coupang, my orders can be delivered quickly, and they arrive right at my doorstep. WOW membership is cheaper, all things considered, so I use Coupang every day,” he said. 

To find more customer testimonials, see the video below!