"People Fed Up with Yangyang's 'One-Night Stand' Rumors Put Up Massive Posters"

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 large posters with phrases such as "Yangyang is being criticized due to distorted stories" and "Fake news is hurting Yangyang" were put up along the roads and around commercial areas near Inguh Beach in Hyeonnam-myeon, Yangyang County. On the exterior wall of one building, an extra-large poster titled "Call for a Thorough Investigation into the Yangyang Sexual False Rumor Incident" was also displayed.

A large poster attached to Yangyang Ingu Beach. Photo by Yonhap News

The poster claims that from 2023 to 2025, malicious false information related to sex and sexual relationships has spread over three years, damaging Yangyang’s image and leading to decreased sales for local business owners. It also lamented that rumors such as "If you visit Yangyang, people assume you went for a one-night stand" have become widespread, to the point where families, couples, and friends are discouraged from visiting.

The author asserted that "everyone making a living in Yangyang is a victim," demanding a thorough investigation and responsible action against those who create and spread false posts. The author also appealed to President Lee Jaemyung, stating, "Locally driven growth begins with trust in the region," and "It is difficult for a tourist destination to recover once it has been 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 Aimed at Destroying 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 without any fact-checking.

Indeed, numerous posts have appeared on online communities and social networking services (SNS) portraying the area negatively, such as "A review from a girlfriend who spent a night in Yangyang" and "Avoid people who have been to Yangyang." In response, local residents and merchants have repeatedly reported that their livelihoods are threatened as customers decrease due to rumors that are not based on fact.

In July of last year, Yangyang County filed a criminal complaint, suspecting organized dissemination due to the repeated posting of messages with identical sentence structures and abnormally high numbers of views and recommendations. However, in October of the same year, the police decided not to forward the case for prosecution, citing "no charges." The police acknowledged that unidentified individuals had posted content that could harm the region’s image, but concluded that there was insufficient specificity regarding victims and that it was difficult 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

Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year, controversy arose after JTBC's "Incident Chief" reported a tip-off that someone was asked to leave a Yangyang caf? 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 is not based on fact is stigmatizing the entire region," and stressed the urgent need for uncovering the truth and taking responsible action.