By Hong Dam-young, Park Si-soo



South Korea's foreign ministry "does not care about" two K-pop fans from Saudi Arabia who left the male-dominant Middle East nation without mandatory approval of an adult male from their families.



The two, in their 20s, reportedly arrived here two days ago, but their whereabouts is unknown, with their parents having sleepless nights hoping for their return, according to local news reports.



Regarding the issue, a diplomat at the foreign ministry's Middle East section told The Korea Times, "We are aware of this issue but not interested and we won't take any action for the children because this issue should be addressed by Saudi Arabia, not us."



According to Saudi Arabia's English-language newspaper Saudi Gazette, the two "fled" to South Korea last week.



The father of one student said his daughter went to university in the morning as usual but was late to return home, the paper reported.



"We were not very worried because she works at a shopping center after university. We assumed she might have gone to her job. By 11 p.m. we became worried," the father was quoted as saying in the report released on Oct. 9.



"I reported this to the police. By looking at my Abshir [family] records I found out that my daughter had left the kingdom for South Korea with a friend. I think my daughter used my phone to log into my Abshir account and give herself permission to travel."



A brother of the other student told the newspaper that his sister had traveled to South Korea with a friend.



According to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Seoul, Saudi women -- minors and adults alike -- need permission from an adult male in the family to travel overseas.



