Jeju beaches draw 1.6 million visitors ... satisfaction score: 89.71

【Financial News Jeju = Jeong Yong-bok, reporter】 This year, approximately 1.606 million people visited beaches in Jeju, an 11% increase over last year. Visitor satisfaction also rose by 7.25 points to 89.71, drawing attention to policies to improve visitor convenience and safety management.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 12th, the 12 designated beaches in the province, which operated from June 24 to September 6, saw approximately 158,000 more visitors than last year, when they drew approximately 1.448 million.
This year, the operating period was standardized at 75 days for eight beaches in Jeju City and four in Seogwipo City. The season was extended by six days compared with last year. During the summer peak season, from July 15 to August 15, four beaches—Iho Tewoo, Hyeopjae, Samyang and Woljeong—extended their daily operating hours by one to two hours.
Among the beaches, Hamdeok Beach drew the most visitors, at approximately 700,000. Hyeopjae followed with approximately 203,000, and Geumneung with approximately 130,000. In Seogwipo City, approximately 84,000 people visited Jungmun Saekdal Beach and 54,000 visited Pyoseon Beach.
Visitor satisfaction rose from 82.46 points last year to 89.71 this year. These were the results of a survey conducted by Jeju Province at four beaches—Hamdeok, Hyeopjae, Jungmun Saekdal and Pyoseon—to identify issues causing inconvenience to visitors.
Jeju Province concluded that the rise in satisfaction was influenced by operating “Sammu (Three No’s) Beaches”—with no accidents involving casualties, unkind service or price gouging—and by improvements to convenience and safety facilities.

Parasol rentals remained at 20,000 won and platform beds at 30,000 won for the third consecutive year. Hamdeok Beach operates a “Pet Beach,” where visitors can swim with their pets, while Iho Tewoo and Pyoseon beaches have barrier-free facilities, including water wheelchairs. A water-safety campaign video using artificial intelligence (AI) was also produced.
However, since the beaches’ operating season itself was longer this year, it is difficult to conclude that the increase in visitors was solely due to improvements to convenience facilities.
Jeju Province held a second-half Beach Council meeting on the 10th to discuss this year’s operating results and improvements for next year. Local residents, including members of village, youth and women’s associations, as well as fire service and Coast Guard officials, proposed adjusting the operating season and hours, stabilizing prices for beach amenities and improving management of areas permitted for occupation and use of public waters.
The meeting also discussed specialized operations for each beach and spreading out the dates of local festivals. Jeju Province plans to review the proposals, set out its operating approach in greater detail at a council meeting in the first half of next year, and incorporate it into the 2027 beach operations plan.
Kim Jong-su, head of Jeju Province’s Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, said, “Next year, too, we will improve beach operations in line with visitor demand and work to strengthen safety management, creating an environment where residents and tourists alike can enjoy themselves with peace of mind.”


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