On October 9, JTBC’s Scandal Supervisor program featured the story of Mr. A, who runs a barbecue restaurant in the metro area. According to him, around 9.30pm on September 6, seven Chinese customers entered his restaurant. While Mr A was in the kitchen, two of the customers lit cigarettes in the dining room despite being told: “Don’t smoke.” Instead, they reportedly replied, “We are from China” and ignored the warning. Some even hid cigarettes under the table, spit on the floor and put out the cigarettes directly on the tables.
Mr. A explained that when he went into the dining room, he saw cigarette butts and spittle scattered on the floor. “They didn’t even bother stepping on cigarette butts to put them out properly,” he said. After being forced out when the restaurant closed, customers allegedly vandalized the bathroom, leaving urine on the floors and even damaging the toilet.
In another incident on the same day, a Chinese tourist was caught allowing her child to defecate on the ground on the Yongmeori coast in Seogwipo, Jeju. The site is not only a natural monument but also a UNESCO global geopark. Photos provided by a witness show the woman crouched down while holding her baby, with used wet tissues left nearby. The witness said: “She let her baby relieve himself on the floor, left the tissues behind her and just walked away. It was shocking.”
The witness also stated that a guide, believed to be ethnic Korean-Chinese, was present but did not intervene. “I try not to be prejudiced against Chinese tourists,” added the witness, “but it becomes increasingly difficult when these things keep happening.”
These incidents have fueled growing frustration over the growing number of cases linked to Chinese visitors on South Korean holidays, raising concerns about cultural clashes and respect for public spaces.
Sources: born
