South Korea fights bedbug outbreaks amid tourism boom: ‘it itches madly’

Authorities are asking travellers to disinfect their belongings thoroughly, while some locals are steering clear of public transport or cinemas

Officials are inspecting public facilities and conducting disinfection operations, while considering importing better insecticide to counter a pest unfamiliar to most South Koreans

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Tourists wearing traditional Korean dress seen in Seoul. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:00pm, 8 Nov 2023Updated: 9:23pm, 8 Nov 2023

South Korea is grappling with bedbug outbreaks as the country sees a post-pandemic tourism boom, leading some locals to steer clear of public transport or cinemas to avoid the bloodsucking pests.

Hygiene authorities are asking international travellers from places including France and Britain, where outbreaks were reported, to disinfect their belongings thoroughly amid fears that the bugs may hitch a ride to other locations.

“Those who might have been exposed to bedbugs while travelling abroad should thoroughly sterilise their travel accessories,” the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in a statement last week.

People shop at Namdaemun Market in Seoul. A total of 17 suspected bedbug reports have been filed from seven of Seoul’s 25 districts. Photo: EPA-EFE

Authorities also warn that spraying the hardy insects with insecticide will not get the job done, admitting that the country needs to introduce other kinds of pesticide than the existing pyrethroid-based chemicals.

Local news broadcasts showed videos of the small, reddish-brown insects that are about the size of an apple seed, crawling on clothes, and hiding in cracks and crevices of walls and sofas, sparking public phobia of the bugs that most South Koreans have never seen before.

Bedbugs feed on human and animal blood but normally do not transmit disease, according to Park Yoo-mi, a senior Seoul City health official.

“However, bedbug bites can lead to skin rashes, severe itchiness or allergic symptoms, causing economic and psychological damage. Therefore, we will aggressively respond to the outbreak,” she said.