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Jongno police aim to stamp out crime with tourist education program

Published: 05 Aug. 2025, 16:10 Updated: 05 Aug. 2025, 18:12

YOON SEUNG-JIN
[email protected]

A police officer, left, explains the content of a pamphlet to reporter Chutian Shi as part of Jongno Police Station's recent initiative to prevent crimes. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Gyeongbok Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Jongmyo Shrine and many more.

Located in the heart of Seoul, Jongno District houses numerous tourist attractions that blend Korea’s traditional and modern charms, wooing over 10 million foreign visitors every year.

However, just as the high volume of newcomers has brought positive effects to the tourism powerhouse, it has also burdened the district with problems stemming from a lack of basic rule awareness, such as smoking in restricted areas, courtesies in residential areas and jaywalking, according to the Seoul Jongno Police Station.

In its efforts to help the newcomers get a grasp on the ground rules and stay away from unintended legal trouble, the police station launched an interactive program, the “Crime Prevention Stamp Tour,” in June.

“We designed this program to help foreign visitors better understand Korean culture and basic legal rules, and at the same time, to prevent risks that tourists might easily be exposed to,” said Officer Lee Jae-jun, who oversees the police station’s crime prevention initiative.

“The purpose of the program is to prevent violations of public order and educate visitors of various nationalities about crimes that foreign visitors are particularly vulnerable to or unwittingly liable to commit.”

The crime prevention program, scheduled to run through Aug. 31, involves 10 police substations across the district. Participants can visit any of the substations in each precinct and collect three stamps to complete the mission and receive a police mascot keychain as a reward.

Guidelines designed for Seoul Jongno Police Station's recent initiative to prevent crimes involving foreign nationals [SEOUL JONGNO POLICE STATION]

A map designed for Seoul Jongno Police Station's recent initiative to prevent crimes involving foreign nationals [SEOUL JONGNO POLICE STATION]

The Tong-ui, Sajik, Okin and Cheongwoon substations in Precinct One educate visitors on the prevention of drug use and the possession of weapons.

“Since crimes involving drugs or weapons can seriously harm other individuals, they are treated as serious offenses, often leading to expulsion from the country,” said a police officer from the Tong-ui Police substation. “In particular, with drug-related crimes on the rise recently, we’re putting more effort into related education.”

According to a white paper released last year by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, drug crime in Korea involving foreign nationals increased for five consecutive years from 2019 through 2023.

The number of foreign drug offenders in 2023 was 3,151, a 106.1 percentage point jump from the 2019 figure of 1,529.

A police officer, right, explains the content of a pamphlet to reporter Chutian Shi as part of Seoul Jongno Police Station's recent initiative to prevent crimes. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

The Sinmoon-ro and Sejong-ro substations in Precinct Two provide education on how to report a crime to the police, and on commonly misunderstood issues like cigarette butt disposal or electric scooter usage by two people or more.

“While some foreigners live here long-term, most are short-term visitors entering on tourist visas for less than 90 days, so we focus on explaining minor infractions and basic reporting methods rather than delving into more serious crimes,” said the chief of the Sejong-ro Police substation. “So we try to educate foreign tourists about basic things like how to seek help from the police and avoid being overcharged by taxi drivers.”

“Things that seem obvious to Koreans can be difficult for foreigners to understand, so we aim to help with those. I hope tourists will be able to fully enjoy their trips through this education,” the officer added.

In the third precinct, Samcheong, Cheongjin, Gwansu and Jongno-2 ga substations cover crimes like gambling, theft and stalking.

“Being involved in these kinds of crimes can lead to severe punishment,” said a police officer at the Cheongjin Police substation. “Offenses like theft and stalking are clearly not acceptable anywhere, but when it comes to things like passport possession, many tourists aren’t aware and could end up in a tough situation.”

According to the Seoul Jongno Police Station, travelers who fail to carry their passports and are unable to present ID upon request from police may face a fine.

A police officer, left, and reporter Chutian Shi pose for a photo holding the prize for completing the mission. [YOON SEUNG-JIN]

Despite its good intentions and useful content, the program has room for improvement, such as the language barrier.

When the reporters visited the police substations, the police officers on site could speak little English. While the pamphlets were offered in three languages — English, Chinese and Japanese — to aid the process, some of the translations were insufficient or contained misinformation about some details regarding the prize and the number of stamps participants need to earn.

“We started such programs to help foreign tourists last year and have plans to expand them further,” Lee said. “Now that we are aware that there are some mistranslations in the provided information, we will try to improve them for our next programs.”

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]