'Itchy all day long': Family reports murky pool water at Gyeonggi Province villa

A post describing a family's experience with poor water quality at a pool villa in Gyeonggi Province has drawn attention online.

Photos and a written account of the incident at a Gyeonggi Province pool villa were shared on social media Tuesday.

The author, identified only as A, said she visited the villa with a friend's family and their children. "The pool water smelled strongly of dirt and looked cloudy," A said. "It felt off, but we got in with the kids anyway."

She said they got out of the pool after just 20 minutes and washed the children off.

After the swim, the pool water had turned murky, resembling muddy water, A said.

In photos shared alongside the post, the water in the private pool attached to the room appears a light brown color and visibly cloudy, with the bottom barely visible.

A said she asked the villa operator whether the water had been drawn from a nearby stream but received no response. "I don't even know if it's legal to use stream water," she wrote. "My body was itchy all day — I was going out of my mind."

A also said yellowish water trickled from the sink and toilet, and that a water purification filter she used while washing dishes turned brown.

"When I was making breakfast for the kids and doing the dishes, the filter turned the color of dirt," she said. "I regretted only bringing two filters."

Photos included in the post showed two visibly discolored brown filters.

Commenters reacted with concern, writing that the water was "too filthy even for stream water," that it "looks like groundwater that wasn't properly filtered," and that the facility "should be required to undergo water quality testing."

Meanwhile, private pools at pool villas and pension-style accommodations are not subject to mandatory water quality inspections under current law and are managed at each operator's discretion.