Never Stay at Hotels with This 'One-Line Warning'! Taiwanese Reveal Terrifying Consequences, Insiders Caution: Even 4-Star Rated Accommodations Need Care

Travelers planning a trip to South Korea should remain vigilant. A netizen preparing for a visit shared a post on a social media platform, revealing that while browsing reviews for a highly-rated South Korean hotel, they stumbled upon a one-star review from a Taiwanese guest written entirely in a mysterious code blending Hokkien phonetics, Zhuyin (Bopomofo), and character shapes. The original poster admitted they were completely baffled by the message.

The cryptic comment read: '呆灣狼拜偷恩湯來，挖住蠟勞欸幫ㄍㄧㄥ，武『武金十子子乚』蠟七咧，五告ㄎㄧㄠ ㄅㄡˇ'. While the poster could grasp the general tone, the phrase '金十子乚' remained incomprehensible, prompting them to seek help online.

Taiwanese netizens quickly decoded the message, revealing it warned: 'Taiwanese, please don’t come. I stayed on the 6th floor, and there were 6 to 7 'pinhole' cameras—absolutely terrifying.' The characters '金十子乚' were used to visually and phonetically mimic the Hokkien pronunciation of 'pinhole' (tsim-khang), creating a clever linguistic cipher.

This uniquely Taiwanese method of encoding warnings sparked widespread attention online. Commenters praised the ingenuity: 'This warning from a Taiwanese traveler is incredibly effective,' and 'This is a uniquely Taiwanese encrypted message—let’s cherish our Hokkien language.'

A fellow Taiwanese traveler who stayed at the same hotel last month confirmed the issue, stating they immediately reported it to both the booking platform and the Taipei Mission in Korea. 'That’s why they couldn’t delete the one-star review,' they explained.

Despite these serious allegations, the hotel in Busan’s Gwangalli area maintains a 4-star rating on Google Maps and an impressive 8.1 score on Booking.com. This has led to growing skepticism: 'With an 8.1 rating and 4 stars, even official scores can only be taken as reference now.'

South Korea has faced repeated scandals involving hidden cameras in hotels and guesthouses. Just recently, a Taiwanese fan staying at a four-star hotel in Busan while chasing K-pop idols discovered a pinhole camera in their room. Users noted, 'There was another case just last year at a four-star hotel in Busan,' and 'Hidden cameras in Korean hotels have become frighteningly common in the past couple of years.'

Experts and netizens urge travelers to thoroughly read low-rated reviews before booking and to conduct a careful room inspection upon check-in to protect their privacy. The full discussion can be found on Threads.