With a rise in tourism internationally, excessive tourist population at popular spots such as the Jeju Island in South Korea are disrupting local life.
In response to mounting dissatisfaction, Jeju police has come up with a set of new guidelines set to be imposed on unruly tourists. This multilingual etiquette notice that specifies the guidelines in Korean, English and Chinese, is a first of its kind in South Korea according to reports.
The set of new guidelines recently imposed on misbehaving tourists in the Jeju Island, will look to, "prevent misunderstandings due to language and cultural differences and improve foreigners’ understanding of Korean culture and laws."
The Jeju Provincial Police Agency kept tabs of violations by international tourists between March and June, as part of a special campaign. They recorded over 4,800 cases of misdemeanour during that time frame.
Currently, around 8000 guides are being circulated to set the guidelines in motion. If a tourist violates the listed guidelines, they would be fined up to 200,000 won (about ₹12,000). The list of prohibited actions by tourists include: 1) Littering, graffiti, jaywalking, 2)Drunk/disorderly conduct, 3)Smoking in banned areas, 4)Ignoring traffic rules, dine-and-dash, 5)trespassing and 6)Public urination/defecation, weapons possession, disturbing peace.
First-time violations will invite only warnings and any repetition would imply hefty fines.
With a steady rise in number of tourists in the Jeju Islands, it is important to keep tourist behaviour in check in order to protect the cultural fabric of the region. In 2025 itself, over 7 million tourists have visited the island in South Korea, according to the Jeju Tourism Association. This trend is not limited to South Korea alone, but is seen all around the world.
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