A controversy has arisen in Jeju Island after a child, presumed to be a Chinese tourist, was caught defecating in a public place.
Recently, a photo of a toddler, presumed to be a Chinese tourist, defecating in the parking lot of an aquarium has been spreading on an online community under the title, “Chinese again.”
The photo shows a girl with her pants down and defecating, with a woman, presumed to be her guardian, holding toilet paper next to her without much resistance. Person A, who uploaded the photo, said, “How long has it been since the defecation incident and is this happening again?” and “There are so many Chinese people in Jeju that I can’t tell if they are Chinese or Korean.”
Netizens criticized, saying, “What did the child do wrong? It’s the parents’ fault,” “They’re treating Jeju Island like a bathroom,” and “They should be fined.”
As the number of Chinese tourists visiting Jeju Island increases, the inconsiderate behavior of some tourists is once again causing citizens to frown. In June, a child, presumed to be a Chinese tourist, was caught on the street in Jeju Island, pulling down his pants and defecating next to his guardian who was not stopping him.
The person who uploaded the photo at the time criticized the group, saying, “I don’t know what they were thinking,” and “People in our country even cleanly dispose of dog feces in bags, so what about human feces? Why are you polluting another country?”
Also, around the same time, a photo was uploaded of a convenience store in Jeju Island, which was popular with Chinese tourists, showing all kinds of trash, including leftover cup ramen, beverage bottles, and disposable wooden chopsticks, strewn all over the place, which became a hot topic. A person who identified himself as a convenience store worker said, “A former part-time worker said, ‘When we tried to clean up, so many Chinese customers came in that we didn’t have time to clean up. ‘”
Seo Kyung-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, said on Facebook at the time, “In the past, some Chinese tourists who visited Jeju Island have been criticized for their inconsiderate behavior, such as damaging tourist sites, causing disturbances, and sexually harassing them.” He added, “We can no longer tolerate such behavior, so we must punish them as petty crimes and make an example of them.”
Meanwhile, as the controversy over Chinese tourists’ ‘bad manners’ such as street defecation terrorism and jaywalking grew, Jeju police conducted ‘foreigner basic order guidance and crackdown’ in the downtown area of Jeju City in June.
Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com
