Buckchon Hanok Village: One of the most popular destinations in Seoul, South Korea, imposes 5pm curfew on tourists

Buckchon Hanok Village is one of Seoul’s most popular tourist destinations and the number of visitors far surpasses that of the residents. To address the issue, South Korea is implementing a new rule in the historic neighbourhood, limiting tourists from accessing some regions of Buckchon between 5pm and 10am each day.

The curfew is set to be trialled in November before an official launched in March next year, with fines of up to 100,000 won (£56) to be imposed on those who break it. Buckchon is in the Jongo District and is round 4km or a 17-minute subway ride from Seoul’s centre.

It is known for its traditional ‘hanok’ houses dating back to the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897). Last year, it attracted around six million visitors - the neighbourhood has a resident population of around 6,100.

Chung Moon-hun, the Jongo district head, says the goal of the new initiative is to protect the rights of residents. South Korea isn’t the only holiday destination to address the issue of overtourism. 

In San Sebastian, Spain’s Basque Country, protests recently broke out as part of a country-wide ‘October Against Tourism’, to address concerns about the local authority’s handling of excessive tourism. Activists walked behind a banner that said in Basque and Spanish: “Decrease in tourism now.”

The march started at midday and was supported by around 50 regional groups and associations. This follows a summer of anti-tourism protests that broke out in Spain and in other countries across Europe such as Greece.

Two major protests took place in the capital of Mallorca, Palma, over the summer. The first was on May 25 when organisers had to apologise afterwards for abuse directed at some foreign holidaymakers. The second took place on July 21 which passed off peacefully, although some demonstrators used Spain's Euros final win to poke fun at English tourists and others branded British holidaymakers “drunks”.