Climbing, Crossing Barriers for Photos... Another Instance of Disruptive Tourists

Visitors to the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, have sparked online controversy after exhibiting a series of thoughtless behaviors.

Professor Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women's University posted on social media, saying, "Controversy has arisen due to the disruptive behavior of some tourists, presumed to be Chinese," and added, "It has been repeatedly confirmed that people are climbing onto exhibited tanks to take pictures."

Photos uploaded by Professor Seo show a tourist ignoring a "Do Not Enter" sign to climb onto a tank, as well as others crossing control lines to take photos right in front of the exhibits.

Professor Seo pointed out, "Such improper viewing etiquette at a place frequently visited by overseas tourists and where the sacrifices of UN participating nations are commemorated deserves criticism."

This is not the first time disorderly behavior by tourists has occurred at major historic sites in South Korea.

Controversy erupted last year when a group of Chinese tourists was frequently spotted urinating near the stone wall of Gyeongbokgung Palace and smoking in non-smoking areas within the historic site.

Local governments are struggling to manage tourist attractions as the number of visitors has surged following the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the inbound tourism statistics for the first half of this year compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization on the 23rd [July 23, 2026], total cumulative foreign visitors reached 10.71 million, representing a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

Compared to the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, it recovered to 126.9% of that level.

By country, Chinese tourists were the most numerous at 3.21 million, followed by 1.95 million Japanese, 1.15 million Taiwanese, and 810,000 Americans.

Professor Seo emphasized, "Setting good examples such as imposing fines and having tour guides consistently educate Chinese tourists is a good way to reduce disruptive behavior."

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News | Source footage: Professor Seo Kyoung-duk's social media)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.