Street cleaners sort trash at Haeundae Beach in Busan, July 29. / Yonhap



By Lee Han-soo

From beer cans to water bottles, leftover chicken, watermelon rinds and dirty clothes, major beaches across the nation are suffering from summer vacationers leaving tons of trash mounting daily.

Local governments have stepped up efforts to clean the mess, putting in more manpower and expanding cleaning hours, but had little to no success.

At Millak Waterside Park in Busan, collected trashes during weekdays an average of 2.5 tons of trash is collected each day, according to local officials. This doubles on weekends.

It takes four hours for 10 city street cleaners and volunteers to sort through and properly recycle the trash.

"I'm OK with people enjoying their vacation by eating and drinking near the beach," said a city street cleaner. "What I don't understand is why they disappear without cleaning up their mess."

Although it is possible to impose fines for illegal dumping of garbage, it is difficult, because city officials do not have judicial power to check every tourist's ID and fine those responsible.

"We can't stop them if they say they are leaving momentarily and will come back to clean up the trash," said a city official.

At Busan's Haeundae Beach, one of Korea's most enjoyed getaways, 10 city street cleaners start work at 4 a.m.

Locals are not happy with vacationers either.

"It's a shame that such a beautiful beach is being contaminated by the enormous amount of trash," said a Haeundae resident. "I wish vacationers would clean up their mess."

Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, where the 2017 Boryeong Mud Festival is being held, is also being littered with trash. More than 57 cleaners collect trash from 3 a.m. to late at night.

More than 30 tons of trash is collected at weekends.

"The situation has gotten a little bit better than last year because many tourists are recycling their trash properly," said a Boryeong city official.