KB News Desk
Super Junior member and actor Choi Si-won inadvertently became part of Seoul’s fire prevention campaign when he asked a foreign tourist to stop smoking at Gyeongbokgung in Seoul, according to a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on Tuesday.
The video, titled “A rainy palace tour, Gyeongbokgung (feat. Yang In-eok),” was posted Tuesday and shows Choi touring the Joseon-era palace with Yang In-eok, a volunteer guide.
While the two were talking near one of the palace’s stone sculptures, a foreign visitor was seen with a cigarette.
Choi walked over to the tourist and said, “Excuse me, please,” gesturing for the person to stop smoking.
The tourist immediately lowered the cigarette, and Choi responded, “Thank you,” before returning to the tour.
Gyeongbokgung, one of Seoul’s most visited historic sites, is a nonsmoking area.
The incident comes amid growing concern over fire risks at cultural heritage sites, particularly from discarded cigarette butts, as the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea continues to rise.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, cigarette butts were the leading cause of fires attributed to carelessness in Seoul during the spring seasons from 2021 to 2025, accounting for 49 percent of such cases.
Korea has long sought to strengthen fire prevention at historic sites following several incidents of damage to cultural heritage, including the 2008 arson attack that destroyed Sungnyemun, a historic gate in central Seoul.
