Jeju Island is losing its luster as a destination for Koreans who quit the rat race for a life closer to nature, a trend that began around five years ago.

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the net influx of residents into the southern resort island last year dropped below 10,000 as monthly figures fell from 1,038 in January to 997 in February, and then to 467 in September and an estimated 200 in December.

At one point the resort island saw a net influx of more than 10,000 people from the mainland and elsewhere each year, with 11,114 in 2014 and reaching a peak of 14,005 in 2017.

A Jeju provincial government official said, "If the decline continues, more people will move away from the island than come to live here."