Illegal stream businesses exploit summer vacationers

Summer vacationers who flock to streams to cool off get overcharged by illegal businesses around the streams. / Courtesy of Twitter

By Hong Dam-young

One of Koreans’ favorite spots to cool off in summer is beside streams. People flock to them to enjoy beautiful nature and the cold water that flows down from nearby mountains.

But there is a downside. You might face a street vendor who will demand 50,000 won ($45) just for sitting on a bench in the valley because it belongs to the vendor’s business area.

Some valleys are dominated by restaurants and street vendors that are taking advantage of vacationers by overcharging for street taxes or blocking them from entering the valley unless they order food from the restaurants.

Such illegal “stream business” continues despite penalties on the operators.

The upper region of Jakgwaecheon Stream, a famous vacation spot in Ulju County in Ulsan, has been grappling with illegal businesses around the stream for years.

“It is difficult to regulate vendors as they play ‘hide and seek’ with patrols cracking down on illegal business around the stream,” a county official said. “Vendors pull down the business when they are caught by the patrol, but as soon as the patrol is out of their sight, they bring back their benches and tables and start charging people who sit down on their property.”

It costs up to 50,000 won ($45) to use a wooden table near a stream if the table belongs to a vendor. / Courtesy of Twitter

Samgye Stream, a famous spot in Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province, also teems with illegal businesses, tainting the area’s reputation and increasing visitor complaints. An educational foundation that owns the stream has allegedly been turning a blind eye to the county’s request to regulate the businesses.

“There is no sign of street taxes around streams,” a visitor to the forest complained. “At Daepo Forest in South Gyeongsang Province, you pay 10,000 won for spreading a mat on the ground. Setting up a tent costs you 15,000 won and there are additional charges depending on the size of your tent.”

Another victim complained: “When I visited Nedae Stream in Jirisan National Park, I was sitting down on a bench near the stream for 30 minutes. Then a man came over calling himself the land owner and asked me to pay 50,000 won. We had an argument for a while and I ended up paying 30,000 won.”

But the nationwide crackdown on illegal stream businesses does not seem to stop vendors from finding a loophole to put up banners that say “seats available near stream.”