"I saw the first missile fall on Dubai with my own eyes while on a yacht tour with my parents and younger sister. It was my first time seeing shells and missiles exploding, and I was extremely worried."
Yu Se-i, 18, a high school student who had traveled to Dubai, UAE with her family and was originally scheduled to return home on the 1st of this month, breathed a deep sigh of relief as she emerged from the arrival gate at Incheon International Airport on the 6th.
"When I saw the missile flying while on the boat, I thought I should get back to the hotel as quickly as possible to assess the situation," Yu said. "My flight tickets kept getting booked and then canceled repeatedly, until I heard that direct flights to Incheon had resumed and was able to get a ticket."
Kim, 75, who had gone to visit her daughter living in Dubai and returned alone, said, "My daughter says she and my grandchildren are fine, but I don't feel good coming back to Korea by myself." She added, "Every time I heard bombing sounds or voices telling us to take cover, I would move away from the windows and rush toward the bathroom."
Travelers who escaped the Middle East unanimously expressed fear about the volatile crisis situations they encountered locally.
Kim Yeon-suk, 65, who departed Dubai the previous day and arrived at Incheon International Airport, said, "My heart would pound just hearing airplane or ambulance sounds, so I couldn't leave my hotel room. I was moved to tears longing for my homeland."
Another returnee, Kim Jae-sung, 57, said, "I witnessed a drone crash near my accommodation and catch fire, and missiles were flying even at dawn when I was heading to the airport, leaving me trembling with fear. It wasn't until we reached Indian airspace that I finally felt relief that I had survived."
A significant number of sailors are also stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked due to the war between the US-Israel and Iran. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, 26 Korean vessels were identified as remaining inside the Strait of Hormuz as of that day.
Most nearby vessels have stopped moving in accordance with instructions from Vessel Traffic Service centers and shipowners. Common methods include "drifting" with engines off in the Strait of Oman, floating with the current, or dropping anchor at anchorage points. Ships are reported to generally have more than one month's worth of food supplies stockpiled.
However, many in the shipping industry say they cannot entirely rule out the possibility that supply vessels bringing additional food from nearby Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iraq, and Oman could be directly attacked.
A source at a global shipping company familiar with local conditions said, "They say they hear cruise missiles every night and observe flashes of light. If shipowners or companies decide to force a breakthrough, crew anxiety will escalate extremely."
Direct flights connecting Dubai and Incheon resumed for the first time since the Middle East crisis erupted.
The government is also considering deploying chartered flights and military transport aircraft to the UAE as early as this weekend. However, those still stranded locally or who barely managed to escape expressed dissatisfaction, saying the government's response has not been proactive enough.
Travelers remaining in the Middle East say in unison, "It's a chaotic situation where we have no choice but to rely on chat rooms of local Korean residents to gather information."
Seo Jae-yong said, "There was absolutely no help from the government when securing accommodation and flight tickets was the top priority. Unlike Japan or China, only Korea had no direct flights for a while, so everyone struggled."