Allegations of Organized False Posts Raised
Declining Sales Attributed to Damaged Image
Local Community: "There Is No Hope Left to Endure"
Yangyang County in Gangwon Province, which has gained nationwide popularity as the "mecca of surfing," is suffering serious damage to its image due to the spread of false posts online. Some beaches have even displayed massive posters and banners appealing to the public, heightening the sense of crisis within the local community. On January 14, Yonhap News reported that banners and posters with messages such as "Yangyang is being criticized due to distorted stories" and "Fake news is hurting Yangyang" were posted one after another along the roads and around commercial areas near Inguh Beach in Hyeonnam-myeon, Yangyang County. A huge poster titled "Call for Investigation into Yangyang Sexual False Rumor Incident" was also hung on the exterior wall of a building.
The poster claims that "malicious false information related to sex and sexual relationships has spread over three years, from 2023 to 2025," resulting in damage to Yangyang's image and a decrease in sales for local small business owners. It also laments the reality that rumors such as "If you visit Yangyang, people assume you went for a one-night stand" have spread, leading families, couples, and friends to discourage visits.
The author stated, "Everyone who makes a living in Yangyang is a victim," and called for a thorough investigation and responsible action against those who create and spread false posts. The author also appealed to President Lee Jaemyung, saying, "Region-led growth begins with trust in the local area," and warned, "It is difficult for a tourist destination to recover once it is framed by false information."
A banner with a rental inquiry is posted at a commercial area near the beach in Yangyang County. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Scanning the QR code attached to the poster leads to a video titled "The Truth Behind the Organized Manipulation of Public Opinion to Destroy Yangyang." The video claims that, in recent years, provocative and unverified allegations-such as "a woman was sexually assaulted by a foreign man at a Yangyang surfing beach"-have been widely spread online.
In fact, numerous posts depicting the area negatively have appeared on online communities and social networking services (SNS), including "Review from a girlfriend who spent a night in Yangyang" and "Avoid people who have been to Yangyang." As a result, local residents and merchants have repeatedly reported that "customers are decreasing due to rumors that do not reflect the facts, threatening our livelihoods."
In July of last year, Yangyang County filed a criminal complaint, suspecting the possibility of organized distribution because posts with the same sentence structure were repeatedly uploaded and the number of views and recommendations increased abnormally. However, in October of the same year, the police decided not to refer the case for prosecution, citing "no charges." The police acknowledged that an unidentified individual had posted content that could damage the local image, but determined that it was difficult to specify victims and to establish a causal link between the damage to the region's image and the business losses of individual establishments.
A banner rebutting malicious rumors is displayed at Inguh Beach in Hyeonnam-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Earlier this year, controversy arose when JTBC's "Incident Commander" reported a tip that someone was asked to leave a caf? in Yangyang for applying hand cream. However, Yangyang County issued an official press release clarifying that, upon investigation, the caf? in question was not located in Yangyang. Local residents and merchants appealed, saying, "Online public opinion that does not reflect the facts is stigmatizing the entire region," and stressed that "truthful clarification and responsible action are urgently needed."
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