Jeju Issues Multilingual Tourist Conduct Guide as Visitor Numbers and Complaints Rise

Seven Million Visitors Bring New Pressure on Jeju

Jeju Island has introduced its first multilingual tourist etiquette guide as South Korea's leading holiday destination confronts complaints about littering, public drunkenness and other disruptive behaviour. More than seven million tourists have visited the island so far in 2025, part of a record influx that has brought business to the local economy while increasing pressure on residents and public spaces.

As of August 21, 2025, police officers are carrying the notices on patrol and distributing them at major tourist destinations. Printed in Korean, English and Chinese, the guide explains local expectations and offences that can lead to fines. First violations of minor rules typically draw a warning, while repeat offenders can face fines of up to 200,000 won, about $143 or £106. Serious offences prompt immediate legal action.

The initiative is South Korea's first multilingual etiquette guide for tourists. Its purpose is to help visitors understand Korean laws and customs before misconduct becomes a recurring problem. Police are using direct explanations alongside enforcement, hoping to reduce misunderstandings without discouraging people from visiting.

Jeju's volcanic landscapes, beaches and cultural heritage attract both domestic and international travellers. The recovery in travel since the pandemic has also brought more complaints about how some visitors behave in shared spaces. Residents have reported smoking where it is prohibited, rubbish left behind and even children defecating in streets.

For the island, the challenge is practical: keeping tourism's economic benefits while protecting everyday community life and the natural surroundings that visitors come to enjoy. The new guide addresses behaviour directly, while wider concerns include waste, crowded facilities and cultural friction.

What Police Want Visitors to Understand

Jeju Police Agency chief Kim Su-young said the guide was developed to prevent misunderstandings arising from language and cultural differences. The police want foreign visitors to have a clearer understanding of Korean culture and the law, with respectful conduct becoming part of their stay.

Kim explained the purpose of the campaign:

The aim is to prevent misunderstandings due to language and cultural differences and improve foreigners' understanding of Korean culture and laws.

Korean, English and Chinese versions give officers a way to explain an offence when they encounter it. A visitor receiving a notice can see which behaviour is at issue and understand that repeating it may bring a financial penalty.

Authorities describe the guide as an effort to promote respectful, sustainable travel rather than deter tourism. Sustainable tourism means managing visits so that residents can continue their daily lives and the places attracting travellers remain protected. On Jeju, the campaign includes calls to respect local customs, stay on designated paths and limit damage to the environment.

Which Behaviours Are Covered?

The guide covers conduct affecting streets, transport, restaurants, neighbourhoods and natural areas. Its list ranges from littering and traffic violations to entering property without permission and carrying concealed weapons.

• Littering.
• Smoking or vaping in prohibited areas.
• Jaywalking.
• Drunk and disorderly behaviour.
• Leaving a restaurant without paying.
• Urinating or defecating in public.
• Using fake identification.
• Trespassing or breaking into empty houses.
• Graffiti and damaging nature.
• Disturbing the peace.
• Carrying concealed weapons.

Leaving a restaurant without paying is often called a dine-and-dash. Jaywalking refers to crossing a road where or when pedestrians are not permitted to cross. These are among the behaviours police want visitors to recognise before an officer has to intervene.

The notices also address actions with direct consequences for other people. Unpaid restaurant bills affect businesses, public disturbances disrupt shared spaces, and littering and damage to nature affect the island's surroundings. Police distinguish between minor violations that may receive an initial warning and serious offences requiring immediate action.

Warnings Come First for Many Minor Violations

Police officers generally hand out the etiquette notice when they witness a minor infraction. The approach centres on education and prevention, with fines reserved for repeated or particularly serious misconduct. Officers aim to maintain public order while avoiding unnecessary confrontation.

An official at the Jeju Provincial Police Agency described how officers decide between giving a notice and taking stronger action:

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

Repeat offenders can face fines of up to 200,000 won. A warning is the usual response to an initial minor violation, but officers are also issuing penalties on the spot. In one recent enforcement effort, police caught nine jaywalkers, most of them tourists, within an hour and fined them immediately.

That operation gives visitors a concrete reason to pay attention to local crossing rules. The education campaign operates alongside enforcement, and the guide explains conduct for which police can take action.

More Than 4,800 Cases in Four Months

The Jeju Provincial Police Agency recorded more than 4,800 cases of misdemeanour involving international tourists during a special campaign between March and June 2025. Misdemeanours are relatively minor offences, although the conduct can still disrupt other people or lead to a penalty.

Examples included smoking on buses, throwing cigarette butts onto streets and urinating in public near popular beaches. Those incidents help explain why the notices focus on ordinary shared spaces as well as tourist attractions.

The pressure has developed alongside a strong tourism economy and a wider recovery in travel. The main dates and figures are:

• 2024: Tourism brought a record 9.26 trillion won into Jeju's economy.
• 2024: International tourism worldwide reached 1.4 billion travellers, nearly the level before the pandemic, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
• March to June 2025: Jeju police recorded more than 4,800 misdemeanour cases involving international tourists during a special campaign.
• By August 21, 2025: Jeju had received more than seven million tourists during the year, and officers were distributing the multilingual guide.

Schoolchildren Join Calls for Better Conduct

Six pupils from Pyoseon Elementary School submitted a proposal titled Solutions to the Etiquette Problems of Foreign Tourists through the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province website. They called for better ways to deal with misconduct and drew attention to the lack of clear channels for reporting inappropriate behaviour.

Their proposal brought a community perspective to an issue often discussed in terms of police action and visitor numbers. Residents need a way to raise concerns when conduct affects their streets and neighbourhoods, while visitors need understandable information about what is expected.

Local reactions combine pride in Jeju's international appeal with frustration about the costs of mass tourism. Complaints concern public decency, pressure on community resources and the effect of disruptive behaviour on daily life.

The guide is intended to help restore a workable balance. Clear explanations can support mutual respect, while residents' involvement, including the pupils' proposal, gives authorities practical concerns to address. The campaign's preference for early education seeks to build goodwill and encourage changes in behaviour that last beyond a single police encounter.

Tourism's Economic Gains Come With Local Costs

Jeju's tourism economy received a record 9.26 trillion won in 2024. That scale of spending helps explain why authorities want to improve conduct while keeping the island welcoming to travellers.

Nearly 70% of foreign visitors to Jeju come from China. Chinese is therefore one of the three languages used in the new guide, alongside Korean and English. The visitor figures cover different groups: the more than seven million arrivals in 2025 include domestic and international tourists, while the nearly 70% share refers to foreign visitors.

Residents also face increased waste, pressure on infrastructure and cultural friction as visitor numbers grow. Infrastructure means the facilities and services people share, including transport and public amenities. When more people use them, managing those spaces becomes harder.

Overtourism describes a situation in which a destination receives more visitors than it can manage sustainably. The consequences can include environmental damage, higher living costs and a poorer quality of life for residents. On Jeju, concerns about misconduct sit within that wider debate about how much pressure tourism places on the island.

Other Destinations Are Managing Similar Pressures

The United Nations World Tourism Organization put international travel at 1.4 billion tourists in 2024, nearly the level before the pandemic. The rebound has brought overcrowding and tensions to destinations beyond Jeju, including Barcelona and Lisbon.

A Japanese town blocked a famous roadside view of Mount Fuji to deter crowds gathering for selfies. Several European cities have acted against illegal rentals for short stays as part of efforts to protect local housing markets. Those measures address crowd concentration and housing pressure, while Jeju's guide concentrates on visitor behaviour.

Destinations are using several approaches to manage the demands of tourism:

• Limiting access to sensitive sites.
• Applying stricter rules to rentals for short stays.
• Increasing fines for disruptive conduct.
• Investing in public education campaigns.
• Encouraging travel outside busy periods and visits to alternative destinations.

Jeju's approach is attracting attention from places facing similar pressures. Multilingual rules reflect the view that language barriers and cultural misunderstandings contribute to many incidents, rather than every problem arising from deliberate disrespect. Clear communication gives authorities a way to intervene early while preserving a welcoming relationship with visitors.

Protecting the Places People Come to See

Jeju's campaign connects everyday conduct with the protection of local culture and the environment. Staying on designated paths, disposing of rubbish properly and respecting shared spaces are concrete ways visitors can reduce their impact.

Police notices alone address only part of the pressure described by residents. Waste, infrastructure demands and the volume of visitors remain part of the island's tourism debate. The immediate effort is to make local rules easier to understand and to act when people repeatedly disregard them.

Authorities hope education before punishment for initial minor offences will reduce repeat incidents and support lasting changes in behaviour. Community participation, understandable rules and enforcement together form Jeju's response to the challenge of welcoming large numbers of tourists while safeguarding life on the island.

Key Points

• Jeju has introduced South Korea's first multilingual tourist etiquette guide, available in Korean, English and Chinese.
• More than seven million tourists had visited the island in 2025 by August 21.
• Initial minor violations typically receive a warning; repeat offenders can face fines of up to 200,000 won, about $143 or £106.
• Serious offences receive immediate legal action, and police have also issued immediate fines for jaywalking.
• Police recorded more than 4,800 misdemeanour cases involving international tourists between March and June.
• Six pupils from Pyoseon Elementary School called for better responses to misconduct and clearer reporting channels.
• Tourism brought a record 9.26 trillion won into Jeju's economy in 2024, while nearly 70% of foreign visitors come from China.
• The campaign aims to protect residents, local culture and the environment while keeping Jeju welcoming to tourists.