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Korean travelers at Da Nang airport draw criticism for putting feet on table, seats

Published: 19 Sep. 2025, 15:06

A photo from an online community site shows a tourist, believed to be Korean, resting barefoot with their feet on a table in a lounge at Da Nang International Airport in Vietnam. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A group of Korean travelers at Vietnam’s Da Nang International Airport sparked criticism after one was seen resting their feet on a table and another with their feet on a seat in a public lounge.

On Tuesday, a post titled “An Embarrassing Scene at Da Nang Airport Lounge” was uploaded to an online community along with the photos. The images showed travelers, believed to be Korean, taking off their shoes and placing their feet on sofas and tables while waiting for their flights.

“A few days ago, while waiting for a night flight [in Da Nang], I saw a group of people who looked like Koreans sleeping with their feet on the chairs next to them," the post read.

The writer added: “Another person in the group even lay down with their feet on a dining table. The few foreigners [present] looked baffled, and I felt my face burn with embarrassment as a Korean in front of the Vietnamese staff.”

The writer emphasized that travelers should follow basic manners in public spaces, saying: “Of course, you can rest when you are tired on a trip, but we need to maintain a minimum level of etiquette in shared spaces.”

"It would be nice if Koreans could show a good image wherever they go. There are many other people around, so we should be considerate," the post read.

Da Nang is one of the most popular destinations for Korean travelers, often nicknamed “Gyeonggi's Da Nang City,” because of the heavy tourist flow from Korea.

Vietnam saw about 17.6 million foreign visitors last year, up 39.5 percent from the previous year, according to the Southeast Asian country’s general statistics office.

Koreans topped the list with around 4.57 million visitors, a 27 percent increase on year. They were followed by Chinese travelers, whose numbers surged 114 percent in the same period to about 3.74 million, along with 1.29 million from Taiwan, 780,000 from the United States and 710,000 from Japan.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]