South Korea’s Jeju island cracks down on misbehaving tourists

Police on the South Korean island of Jeju have cracked down on misbehaving tourists, telling them to act responsibly or risk facing fines.

Jeju police have released a set of guidelines, printed in Chinese, English, and Korean, after locals complained about visitors littering and allowing children to urinate in the street.

Jeju Island has seen an increasing number of visitors flocking to the island, renowned for its distinctive volcanic landscape, smooth white beaches, and hiking routes across diverse rock formations.

This year, local reports state that as many as seven million tourists have visited the island off the south coast of South Korea’s mainland.

Police have printed eight thousand copies to distribute among the arrivals to prevent any misbehaviour. The guide is a first-of-a-kind multilingual etiquette notice in the country.

The guide aims to “prevent misunderstandings due to language and cultural differences and improve foreigners’ understanding of Korean culture and laws”, said Jeju Police Agency chief Kim Su-young, according to BBC News.

The document also lists “minor offences” that will be punishable by fines, such as damaging nature, smoking in prohibited areas, littering, and urinating or defecating in public.

Using a fake ID, being drunk and disorderly, or running away from restaurants without paying will also be subject to fines, as well as breaking into empty houses and jaywalking.

Misbehaviour could result in fines ranging from 20,000 won (£10.63) to 80,000 won (£42.53), the guidelines obtained by The Korea Times show. Those who violate these rules are let off with a warning, but repeat offenders could be fined as much as 200,000 won (£106).

“Officers carry the notices during patrols and hand them out when they encounter minor violations on the spot,” an official at the Jeju Provincial Police Agency told the newspaper.

“Serious offences are dealt with immediately, but for minor ones, we usually issue the notice instead of stricter action.”

The guide follows a special campaign carried out by the Jeju Provincial Police Agency between March and June, according to the newspaper, which investigated violations by visitors.

During this period, officers said they recorded more than 4,800 cases of disorderly conduct. Some of these reportedly included a woman caught smoking on a bus who…