A 20-Year-Old Korean Missing During Backpacking Trip in Japan, Missing for Two Years
Today (27th), July 27, 2023, marks two years since a 20-year-old Korean man embarked on a backpacking trip to Japan and went out of contact for two months, prompting local police to initiate an investigation.
The date of Mr. Yoon's disappearance was confirmed to be June 8, 2023. This incident began in May of the same year.
Born in 1996 and working as a social worker, Mr. Yoon left his previous job and embarked on a month-long backpacking trip to Japan on May 9, 2023.
While freely traveling across various regions of Japan, Mr. Yoon arrived in Kushimoto-cho, Wakayama Prefecture, on June 7, just before his return. This small town, with a population of around 14,000, is known to be sparsely populated with few tourists.
After arriving, Mr. Yoon stayed for one night at a guesthouse in Shionomisaki village and checked out the following morning on June 8.
He spent some time in downtown Kushimoto-cho and around 8 PM took a bus heading back towards Shionomisaki village, getting off in front of the post office.
The last contact on the day of disappearance and the search process
On his way back to the guesthouse, Mr. Yoon called his older sister, saying, "I’m heading back to the accommodation, but it's raining heavily and it's dark. Let's keep talking until I get there."
Then at around 9:26 PM, he sent a text saying, "I’ve arrived safely at the accommodation," which became his last known communication.
Once contact was lost, Mr. Yoon's sister reported him missing to the police and notified the consulate, leading the Japanese police to launch an investigation. The Korean police also began to trace his whereabouts by checking Mr. Yoon's card usage history.
However, investigations revealed that contrary to Mr. Yoon's message to his sister stating he had "arrived at the guesthouse,” there was no record of his stay at the last accommodation he mentioned.
Despite checking all lodging facilities within a 1.5-hour radius of that accommodation, not a single place where Mr. Yoon supposedly stayed on June 8 was found. The last sighting of him was captured on CCTV at a convenience store near the guesthouse.
On June 16, the Japanese local police shifted to a public investigation and deployed helicopters and other resources for the search. Police carried out multiple inspections of the convenience store in Wakayama Prefecture known to be his last location and nearby accommodations, conducting extensive searches, including public broadcasts in the town to find Mr. Yoon. However, they did not find any leads.
Investigation of the unidentified Asian man found in LA
In October 2023, the Los Angeles (LA) health authorities raised suspicion that an unidentified Asian man might be Mr. Yoon.
Local LA media reported that a man in his mid-20s was found with traumatic brain injury in a housing complex in San Pedro.
Since the identity of the man could not be confirmed, LA health authorities disseminated information such as his facial photo, the place where he was found, and items he possessed to local media.
The man had a black backpack, a wallet containing Japanese yen, and travel items but no identification. He was identified to be 178 cm tall and weighing 72 kg.
Upon hearing the news, netizens in Korea speculated that this man could be Mr. Yoon, as their appearances seemed similar, with Mr. Yoon being of similar build at around 175 cm and carrying a black backpack.
However, the South Korean Consulate General in LA stated, "We took fingerprints of the man to compare them with Mr. Yoon's, but they did not match." Mr. Yoon is described as having a height of 175 cm, a slender build, and a small scar on his right cheek.
Anyone who has information or has witnessed Mr. Yoon's whereabouts in Kushimoto-cho, Wakayama Prefecture can report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's consular call center.
Image source: youtube 'I Want to Know That', Website of the South Korean Consulate General in Osaka.
