36,000 won for electricity bills over 3 days and 2 nights?!

The 'electricity bill explosion' issue at a guesthouse in Jeju was resolved as a simple mistake by the staff member in charge.

On the 12th, a post titled "Jeju Island 2 Nights 3 Days Airbnb Accommodation Electricity Bill ('Electricity Fee' typo) Is This Correct?" was uploaded to the online community FM Korea. The author, A, who identified as a soldier, wrote that from April 22 to 24, he and three other soldier friends traveled to Jeju Island.

A message sent by an Airbnb accommodation in Jeju to a guest [Image source: social media platform (SNS) screenshot]

Mr. A booked accommodation through the shared lodging platform 'Airbnb,' and this accommodation was paid for only the stay, with electricity and gas bills paid separately on a postpaid basis. Subsequently, Mr. A was shocked by a text message received from the accommodation. The message from the host stated, "The postpaid utility bills for gas and electricity have been settled, and we are contacting you," and "For the 2 nights and 3 days stay, the gas fee (hot water, heating) is 2,707 won, and the electricity fee is 364,040 won, totaling 368,747 won. Please do not include a deposit for confirmation; kindly transfer the exact amount in units of 1 won."

Mr. A claimed, "We didn't plug in any cords or do anything, and the air conditioner wasn't even turned on because it was cold due to the rain at the time. I also made sure to turn off the lights completely when we went out," asserting that "we did not use excessive electricity." He then asked, "For those who are familiar with travel in Jeju Island or Airbnb, is this price correct?" and concluded his message with, "Including myself and my companions, we're all in our early 20s, mostly soldiers with little experience in social life, and this is the first time something like this has happened, so I want to ask what I should do."

Netizens who saw this story were outraged. Moreover, after it was revealed that some restaurants at tourist spots in Jeju Island were serving 'excessively fatty pork belly' with much more fat than meat, and that there was an overcharge on electricity bills, their anger grew even more. They responded with comments such as "36,000 won for electricity is like a belly button being bigger than the belly," "No wonder no one wants to visit Jeju," "Even if the workers used electricity for three days, is 36,000 won for electricity even possible?" and "Did they accidentally write 36,000 won instead of 36,000 won?"

This accommodation provider announced on Airbnb that "the electricity and gas bills are approximately 8,000 won per day on average in December, about 10,000 won per day in January and February, and around 5,000 won per day in March. During other periods, the costs are generally lower than these amounts." They also explained that "rooms where guests used the heating the previous day tend to retain warmth, resulting in lower heating costs, while rooms that were vacant the previous day may have slightly higher costs. However, charges are based solely on meter readings."

As the controversy grew, Jeju Province, Jeju City, and the Jeju Tourism Association took direct action to verify the facts. As a result, it was revealed that the problematic message was simply a mistake made by the business registered as a rural guesthouse. A Jeju Province official stated, "The owner temporarily entrusted the operation to their nephew, and during that process, they mistakenly calculated and sent the electricity bill," adding, "The business is currently clarifying the misunderstanding with tourists." Jeju Province plans to conduct further investigations to ensure that the business is properly adhering to the regulations for rural guesthouse operators.

The amount doesn't make sense to be a mistakeㅡㅡ