KB News Desk
Elementary school student’s smoke-filtering phone grip wins top prize at 2026 Youth Invention Festival
If a fire broke out while you were sleeping in a hotel, what would be the easiest thing to grab? Most likely, your smartphone.
The idea led to the invention of a smartphone grip that transforms into an emergency breathing mask. It won the top prize at the 2026 Youth Invention Festival, jointly held by the Korea Invention Promotion Association and the Ministry of Intellectual Property from July 30 to Aug. 1, according to news reports Friday.
Behind the invention was Kim Ji-on, a 12-year-old elementary school student in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.
Kim’s idea began with a news report she watched two years ago about a hotel fire in Bucheon that killed seven people. Hearing that trapped guests had made final calls to their families, she began wondering what could have helped them hold out until rescuers arrived.
She found a clue during a school visit to a local fire station. When a firefighter explained that smoke and toxic gases can incapacitate people before the flames reach them, Kim wondered: Why not build protection against toxic fumes into a phone grip?
Fire safety guidelines often advise people to cover their nose and mouth with a wet towel, but Kim thought that someone waking up to a fire might have little time to find a towel and soak it in water.
Kim then worked with her teachers to develop a phone grip fitted with activated carbon fiber, a material that absorbs harmful gases, and a nonwoven filter that traps fine particles. The device can be unfolded and placed over the nose and mouth during a fire.
“I thought that if we kept protective gear attached to a smartphone, something people carry with them all the time and even keep by their side while they sleep, more people could make it out safely in an emergency,” she told a local news outlet.
“It may not protect you for as long as a real gas mask, but I think it can give you those crucial first one or two minutes to get out,” Kim said.
The fire-escape breathing phone grip won the Presidential Award, the competition’s top honor, beating out entries by older middle and high school students. Kim plans to donate her 3 million won ($2,120) prize money to help people in developing countries.
Chilcheon Elementary School, which Kim attends, is a small school on Chilcheondo Island in Geoje, with just 20 students across six classes and 10 teachers. Despite its size, the school produced four winners at the competition, including Kim, with three other students taking gold, silver and bronze prizes.
Launched in 1988, the annual festival has grown into the country’s largest invention event for young people. This year’s competition attracted 6,959 entries, of which 183 were selected for honors.
