Jeju Famous Cafe Suspends Kids Zone Operation... "Some Customers' Excessive Claims"

"Employees' Stress Severe, Temporary Suspension"

A cafe in Jeju Province that operated a 'Kids Zone' has announced the suspension of the Kids Zone operation due to excessive complaints from some customers.

The cafe located in Hallim-eup, Jeju, recently posted on SNS, "We announce the temporary suspension of the Kids Zone operation," adding, "Due to excessive complaints from some customers causing severe stress to our staff, we will temporarily suspend or close the Kids Zone."

[Image source=Jeju Cafe SNS capture]

Operating with a bathhouse concept, this cafe separated its main building as a 'No Kids Zone' and its annex as a 'Kids Zone' starting from the 11th of last month. After just one month of operating the Kids Zone, they chose to suspend it. Although the main building and annex were decorated identically, the annex was larger, so many parents with children visited the No Kids Zone main building.

The operator said, “Parents who come with children briefly come to the main building to take pictures, but the children run around, shout, throw sand into the bath, and play by dipping dishes into the bath. The parents take photos while ignoring this behavior,” adding, “When staff politely ask, ‘Sorry, but please move to the Kids Zone,’ their expressions change sharply, and they deliberately disrupt business and embarrass the staff so that others can hear.”

No Kids Zone (Source=cliparts.zone)

The cafe stated, “When asked to step outside to talk because they are disturbing other customers, their voices get even louder,” and appealed that verbal abuse, spitting, and malicious review threats begin as a second wave. “Some customers only leave after receiving a full refund of 50,000 to 120,000 KRW for coffee and meals they ordered,” and “there were even cases where refunds were given to other customers who were inconvenienced because of this,” they said.

The operator emphasized, “This is not a fabricated story. We have audio recordings,” and also apologized, saying, “We sincerely apologize to the many customers who were affected.”

The No Kids Zone, which prohibits children’s entry, first appeared in 2014.

In May, a bill to ban No Kids Zones was proposed in Jeju, but during the Jeju Provincial Council standing committee review process, it was postponed due to various objections, including claims that it violated higher laws.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.