A day at the beach in South Korea will require a few extra steps this summer. First of all, you need a reservation.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has announced a series of measures to reduce the threat of any spread of COVID-19.
The Ministry says it’s set up each beach with a specific phone number—and visitors need to call it to register when they arrive.
At larger beaches, the next step is getting a body-temperature sticker which you put on your hand or wrist.
It changes color when your temperature goes above 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit—and then you’ll have to leave.
At smaller beaches, you’ll get a temperature check and a wristband.
The Ministry says there are 277 local beaches around South Korea. Starting next month, this program will help provide more information to the public about which ones are the most crowded.
And crowded is a relative term here.
The Joong-Ang Daily reports the new system will rate congestion on a color-coded system of green, yellow and red.
Green just means a beach is at less than 100% of its crowd capacity—yellow is up to 200% capacity—and red is, well, more than that.
