KB News Desk
Viral video of pair taking lucky coins from a pond at the Seoul landmark calls for tighter on-site enforcement, legal action
A middle-aged pair has sparked outrage for scooping up coins from Palseokdam in Seoul.
Coins tossed into the pond as visitors make wishes are collected by the city and donated to charity.
A viral video posted on X on Sunday showed a woman holding a parasol as she waded into the stream in slides to scoop up coins. A man soon joined her, and the pair stuffed the coins into their bags.
Palseokdam sits near Mojeongyo Bridge, one of 22 bridges spanning the 5.8-kilometer-long stream. It was built in October 2005 to mark the stream’s restoration after nearly half a century underground, and the stones used were sourced from across the country to represent the eight provinces of the Joseon era.
As more residents and tourists began tossing coins into the pond while making wishes, the Seoul Metropolitan Government installed a “wish stone” at the center of the pond in 2008 to encourage the coin-tossing tradition.
Stressing the coins’ cultural significance, some online users condemned the pair’s actions, calling for tighter monitoring at the site and legal action against those responsible.
“These aren’t just ordinary coins. They represent each visitor’s wishes and spirit of giving. To prevent similar incidents from happening again, authorities should step up on-site enforcement. The pair should also be identified through CCTV footage and held legally accountable,” one user commented on the video.
These lucky coins, once they have piled up, are collected by the city government and donated to local nonprofit organizations to help those in need. Korean coins go to the Seoul Scholarship Foundation, while foreign coins are sent to the Korean Committee for UNICEF.
From 2005 through May last year, coins collected from the pond amounted to about 448.08 million won ($304,000).
As the Palseokdam coins are managed by the city government for charitable donations, removing them without permission could constitute theft under Korean law, according to legal experts.
Article 329 of the Criminal Act stipulates that theft is punishable by up to six years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won.
