Shopping-Related Complaints Top List of Tourist Inconveniences
Price Disputes and VAT Refund Issues Most Common
"While trying on clothes at a hanbok rental shop, I changed sizes several times, and the staff commented in Korean that I was 'fat,' which made me feel uncomfortable." (British tourist)
A recent survey found that the number one inconvenience experienced by foreign tourists visiting Korea is related to shopping.
According to the "2023 Comprehensive Analysis Report on Tourism Inconvenience Reports," published by the Korea Tourism Organization on May 5, a total of 902 complaints were filed with the Tourism Inconvenience Report Center last year, representing a 213% increase from the previous year. The analysis covers complaints submitted to the center via the website, email, and phone.
By category, shopping-related complaints topped the list with 215 cases, accounting for 23.8% of the total. This was followed by taxi-related complaints (170 cases, 18.8%) and accommodation (142 cases, 15.7%).
The Korea Tourism Organization explained in the report, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of complaints dropped significantly from 2020 to 2022, but as the tourism industry recovered with the transition to endemic status last year, the number of complaints surged."
Among shopping-related complaints, price disputes were the most common at 27.9%, followed by issues with VAT refunds at 24.7%, and requests for refunds or product exchanges at 13.0%. For taxi-related complaints, the most frequently reported issue was "unfair fare charges and refusal to use the meter," accounting for 66.5%. This was followed by driver rudeness (14.1%) and reckless or circuitous driving (7.1%).
Chinese tourist Mr. A is requesting assistance from the Jeju Autonomous Police Agency. [Photo by Jeju Autonomous Police Agency]
Earlier, on May 3, a Chinese tourist in Jeju who had paid nearly ten times the normal taxi fare received a refund with the help of the police. At the time, the Chinese tourist wrote, "I paid 200,000 won instead of 20,000 won for the taxi fare. Please help me recover it. Thank you," and submitted this note to the Jeju Autonomous Police Agency's airport office at Jeju International Airport.
Among accommodation-related complaints, poor facility or hygiene management was cited most frequently at 31.7%. Other issues included poor service (25.4%), cancellation and penalty fees (19.7%), and failure to meet reservation conditions or false advertising (5.6%).
Regarding the locations where tourism complaints occurred, Seoul accounted for more than half at 54.8%, followed by Busan (13.4%), Incheon (12.1%), and Jeju (4.9%).
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are carrying out various improvement activities, such as cooperating with local governments, to address these tourist inconveniences.
Chinese tourists who departed from Tianjin, China, and arrived at Jeju Port are setting out for sightseeing in downtown Jeju. [Photo by Yonhap News]
They are inspecting the readiness of major tourist sites in Seoul and strengthening price gouging checks at cultural tourism festivals. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also plans to conduct four rounds of comprehensive inspections of tourism service readiness from June to October through the "Tourism Service Win-Win Support Group," which includes 100 citizens.
Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists visiting Jeju has increased due to Japan's Golden Week (April 27-May 6) and China's Labor Day holidays (May 1-5). The Tourism Association estimated that, with expanded international flight routes between Jeju and China, about 22,665 Chinese tourists would visit during the Labor Day holiday period. With the overlap of Children's Day and Japan's Golden Week (April 27-May 6), it is estimated that about 172,000 tourists will visit Jeju over the four days from May 3 to 6.
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