In many places and restaurants in South Korea, children are not allowed because they are considered noisy and annoying. The resort island of Jeju, which has the highest concentration of off-limits places for children, had launched a discussion on the matter in February. Later, in some bars they began to place signs that deny entry to couples or middle-aged people.
Seoul () – The proposal by a South Korean legislator to abolish areas prohibited for children has sparked controversy in South Korea. Yong Hye-in, of the Basic Income Party, (a party born out of a split with the Labor Party and campaigning for a universal basic income,) introduced herself with her nearly two-year-old son, saying that many restaurants and public places adopt bans without reasonable grounds. One of them is the National Library of Korea, which only admits visitors over the age of 16 to “protect materials from theft and damage,” according to the institution’s website.
“What we want is a society that embraces not only the fast and competent but also the slow and inexperienced. To overcome one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, we have to review the way our society rejects children and the elderly,” Yong said at a session of the National Assembly a few days ago.
However, public opinion did not receive his comments favorably. Some parents declared themselves in favor of no-go areas for children, and according to a 2021 survey of 1,000 South Korean citizens, 71% of those interviewed considered that it was the administrators’ right to decide whether or not to enforce those areas, while only 17% rated them as “unacceptable.” It is mainly young people between the ages of 20 and 30 who agree with the ban on children, while the older segment affirms that it is normal for children to make noise in public places.
The “no-kids” zones in Korea were born about a decade ago as a result of a series of complaints and claims that spread on the Internet against parents who did not take care of their children, but the recent controversy dates back to February, when the island of Jeju launched a public debate on the issue. The tourist town, which receives 10 million visitors a year, currently has the highest concentration of bars and restaurants that prohibit access to children under 13 years of age. According to a map that can be consulted on Google Maps, there are about 500 “no-kids” areas throughout South Korea. The map is constantly updated by ordinary users and is consulted by families to know where they can go and by young people who want to meet without being disturbed. However, Korea’s National Human Rights Commission recommended in 2017 that the country remove child-free areas, because they violate minors’ right not to be discriminated against.
After the “no-kids” zones were created, billboards began to appear in many parts of Korea that also they prohibited access to bars to other age groupsespecially to men older than 40 or 50 years, but on the Internet images of places that prohibited the entrance to couples or teachers were disseminated.
