Jeju Island, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, has been at the forefront of environmental conservation efforts. Examples include the disposable cup deposit system or the waste separation and emission daily limit. But are these efforts proving beneficial?

People who do not live in Jeju and come to visit mentioned that they did not know how to return disposable plastic cups using the deposit system. The scheme is so inefficient that they prefer to go back to the place they originally bought the cup in to return it. On the other hand, regarding the waste separation system, they thought highly of it, as that it makes the process of collecting the trash faster, preventing a great amount of trash in dumps.

Meanwhile, the people that live here have conflicting opinions. An international student admitted being unfamiliar with the concept of separating waste based on specific days and expressed uncertainty about how it contributes to environmental protection. She also argued that people might be tempted to secretly throw away their waste without proper separation when it accumulates at home. The student suggested that to truly preserve Jeju's natural environment, there needs to be a fundamental reassessment of the problems and the awareness that citizens already have.

In the quest to protect Jeju's environment, it is crucial to continually evaluate and determine the efforts both the government and individuals should undertake for an efficient protection of the environment.