Police were called to a well-known jjimjilbang (Korean sauna and bathhouse) in Busan after foreign tourists entered a bathing area and took photographs inside. [Provided via Threads user 'hanyoritta']
Police were called to a well-known jjimjilbang (Korean sauna and bathhouse) in Busan after foreign tourists entered a bathing area and took photographs inside. [Provided via Threads user 'hanyoritta']

Foreign tourists wearing hijabs and sunglasses entered a women's bathing area at a well-known jjimjilbang in Busan's Haeundae-gu and took photographs with their mobile phones. Police responded to a report of the incident but only admonished the tourists, drawing criticism over the officers' initial handling of the situation.

A post appeared on Threads on Monday from a patron, identified only as A, who said they had witnessed the tourists taking photos at a large jjimjilbang on Dalmaji-gil in Haeundae-gu.

A said there had been many foreign tourists visiting to experience a Korean jjimjilbang. "I was relaxing and went into the bath without thinking much about it, and as I was about to wash up and leave, people wrapped in hijabs and wearing sunglasses came into the bathing area and started taking photos," A wrote. Women were bathing in the nude inside the bath at the time, according to the account.

Startled, A quickly washed up, got dressed, alerted the jjimjilbang staff and called police. While waiting for officers to arrive, A worked with a staff member to locate the tourists and confirm whether photos had been taken.

The group of tourists denied taking any photos and pushed back against having their phones inspected, according to A. When two officers arrived and checked the tourists' phones, photos taken inside the bathing area were found, A said.

"They insisted they hadn't taken anything, but when the police came and searched the phones, photos taken inside the bath turned up," A wrote. "Fortunately, there were no photos showing other people's naked bodies, but the disgust and fear I felt would not go away."

A also said the responding officers' initial conduct was problematic. "The two officers checked all the photos on the phones and then sat the foreigners down and gently said, 'You must have been quite surprised, right? You can't take photos inside the bath,'" A recounted. "They didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of what had happened — they just laughed it off. When I asked the officers to speak more firmly, nothing changed at all."

A ultimately filed a complaint through the government's public petition portal, asking authorities to review whether the officers' on-scene response had been appropriate.

"I was so disappointed by the police's lukewarm attitude," A wrote. "'You must have been quite surprised' — isn't that something you should be saying to the patrons who were completely undressed, including me?" A added that the fear and distress felt by victims should not be treated lightly once photographing has been confirmed.

Online commenters criticized the police response, with reactions including: "Is the Korean police's only mission to be polite?"; "It's illegal filming — why weren't they taken in? What are they, school teachers?"; "Being a tourist is no excuse for that kind of behavior"; and "If it had been a Korean, they'd have been handcuffed and had their phone seized for forensic analysis — but with foreigners, they're endlessly sweet."


betterj@heraldcorp.com