Exchange rates are displayed at a money changing booth in Myeong-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

The weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar, triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's abrupt martial law declaration, has become a source of concern for various sectors and individuals, including the travel industry and students studying abroad.

Following Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3, safety concerns have led to a reduction in the number of inbound foreign tourists. Now, as the won has breached the 1,450 mark against the dollar for the first time since the 2009 global financial crisis, even domestic travelers are canceling overseas trip reservations, presenting a significant setback for travel agencies.

If the won remains weak, there are also concerns that Korean students studying abroad, who rely on remittances in dollars, may be forced to consider taking a leave of absence or returning home.

According to travel industry officials, China's visa-free entry policy for Koreans, announced in November, had raised expectations of increased demand for package tours. However, the situation has quickly changed, and demand is now rapidly declining.

Against this backdrop, some travel agencies are reportedly considering suspending the sale of products through home shopping channels for the time being.

“There have been almost no new bookings for products departing after the year-end,” one travel agency official said.

On online communities like Eurang, popular among individual travelers seeking European trips, and Blind, the anonymous workplace community app, concerns are growing, with users writing things like, “I had planned a trip to the U.S., but with the exchange rate soaring, it's difficult to decide the right time to exchange money.”

Additionally, there are growing indications that the number of Korean students studying abroad who are contemplating returning to Korea will inevitably increase due to the weakening won.

The mother of a student studying at a private university in the United States said, “Since my husband and I send a large sum of money to my daughter, even a slight increase in the exchange rate has a significant impact.”

Foreign workers in Korea are also concerned as the depreciation of the won reduces the amount of money they can send back home.

Many foreign students, who study in Korea and receive allowances from their home countries, meanwhile, are moving to exchange money in advance to cover tuition and living expenses for the next semester.

On the other hand, individuals holding dollars are benefiting from the situation.

As these investors have begun to realize profits, the amount of dollars exchanged for won by individual customers at major banks has seen a significant increase this month.

According to banking industry officials, the amount of dollars converted to won at the five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH NongHyup — totaled $213 million from Dec. 1 to Dec. 20.

The average daily exchange amount during this period was $10.7 million, the highest in 1 year and 4 months, when the figure had stood at $18.4 million.

The daily transaction volume on Dec. 4, the day after the declaration of martial law, surged to $23.85 million, almost doubling from the previous day.

“The large-scale exchange by customers appears to be closely related to the sharp weakening of the won compared to the dollar following the martial law declaration,” an official at one of the major banks said.