Beach businesses booming as pandemic restrictions lifted

Visitors to Anmok Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon, enjoy an early summer vacation on Sunday, weeks before nationwide beaches normally open to the public for the first time in three years. [PARK JIN-HO]

It was like yesterday when Choi Man-jip had to watch three tons of fish perish. As soon as the government tightened Covid restrictions, dozens of people canceled reservations at his raw fish restaurant in the coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon.

Just like that, Choi was left with tanks and buckets of fish in an empty restaurant.

"I honestly thought I would go out of business," the 61-year-old owner said as he recalled July 2021. "This year, I've been getting a lot more customers since early May. We're finally back in business."

Choi, whose restaurant is near Anmok Beach, a tourist attraction famous for its Coffee Street, is so optimistic about the summer that he's planning to hire 10 part-time workers.

High expectations are shared by many other businesses with establishments near beaches, as they anticipate far more customers this summer than last year and the year before.

Even though Korea records thousands of new Covid-19 cases a day, all social distancing measures have been lifted, allowing beaches to return to normal for the first time since 2019. Local governments are organizing festivals for beachgoers, installing restrooms and shower booths, recruiting lifeguards and renting out rubber tubes, parasols and life jackets.

Data from the Korea Tourism Organization on Monday show that many more people are already flocking to coastal cities this year compared to 2021. The number of tourists to six major coastal cities and counties in Gangwon last month totaled nearly 10 million, up from 8.5 million in May 2021, with the greatest increases in Gangneung, Yangyang County and Sokcho.

Kim Jin-cheol, 27, who visited Gangneung's Anmok Beach with his friends last weekend from Seoul, said he was looking forward to life returning to normal this summer. "I'm so excited because I won't have to wear my mask outdoors," Kim said.

In nearby Yangyang, swarms of people were surfing and dining in restaurants.

Most major beaches along the east coast in Gangwon are scheduled to open to the public for 52 days from July 8, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., officials in the province said. Some beaches could stay open until 7 p.m. or 9 p.m., they said, though discussions are ongoing.

Beachgoers can swim before and after official operating hours, though lifeguards won't be on duty.

Along the west coast, some beaches will open earlier, with about 30 expected to open either on July 2 or 7.

Busan's Haeundae Beach and Songjeong Beach, along the south coast, have partially opened from June 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A guesthouse owner near Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, South Chungcheong, said business was so robust these days that all her rooms were fully booked for the weekends.

"My business has been doing really well ever since the government lifted social distancing measures," she said.