Additional Open Smoking Booth with Sky-Opening Installed in Myeongdong

Jung-gu Removes Old Smoking Booths in Myeongdong, Installs 'Natural Ventilation Open Smoking Booths'
Wider and More Comfortable Booths Satisfy Both Smokers and Non-Smokers
Expect Improved Tourist Area Image with Reduced Outdoor Smoking and Illegal Cigarette Butt Disposal

Jung-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Kim Gilsung) demolished the old smoking booth located next to Myeongdong Hana Play Park (199-80 Euljiro 2-ga) at the end of last month and installed a new ‘naturally ventilated open smoking booth’ in its place.

The new smoking booth measures 9.5m in width and 4.5m to 6m in length, making it 2.3 times larger than the previous booth. Instead of a covered top, it is an open-type smoking booth with reinforced glass and steel frames raised to a height of 2.3m. A maze-like design inside ensures that smokers are not visible from the outside, which is another distinctive feature.

The exterior walls of the smoking booth feature ‘trick art.’ An image of Van Gogh’s self-portrait can also be used as a photo zone. Local merchants welcomed the change, saying, “The area around the smoking booth has become brighter and better.”

Signs indicating a no-smoking zone are attached in various places on the floor to emphasize that the area outside the booth is a no-smoking zone. From now on, anyone caught smoking outside the booth will be fined 100,000 won. The district plans to intensively crack down on smoking around the booth throughout June.

The previous smoking booth was 7m wide and 3m long, making the space cramped, which often led smokers to smoke outside the booth. This naturally caused numerous complaints about secondhand smoke and illegal cigarette butt littering. It could also have negatively affected the image of Myeongdong, a popular tourist destination. Moreover, with many high-rise buildings nearby, it was notorious as a place where office workers gathered in groups to smoke.

A district official stated, “We expect the installation of the new smoking booth to make the Myeongdong street more pleasant and reduce the number of unpleasant sights for tourists.”

Previously, in October last year, the district had piloted the first ‘naturally ventilated open smoking booth’ at the plaza rest area in front of the Bank of Korea. Considering that fully enclosed smoking booths were avoided by smokers due to the feeling of confinement, they introduced an open booth with a high wall and an open sky. The pilot operation showed high satisfaction among both smokers and non-smokers, with fewer smokers coming out of the booth and a reduction in complaints.

However, since smoke from the open smoking booth can flow outside, the principle was to secure an adequate distance from main walkways when selecting booth locations.

The district plans to install two more open smoking booths in areas with many smokers by July. They are also considering installing single-person open smoking booths, which are useful in narrow spaces.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.