Foreign national in Incheon spotted collecting trash, inspires other residents
A foreign national collects trash left by hikers on a mountain trail in Bupyeong District, Incheon, in a photo taken on Jan. 17 by a local resident. Captured from Bupyeong District Office website
A quiet act of environmental stewardship by an American who recently moved to Incheon has drawn attention after a longtime local shared his experience online.
According to a post uploaded to the Incheon Bupyeong District Office website on Monday, a 65-year-old resident who has lived in the area for two decades described witnessing an American man collecting trash alone on a nearby mountain trail, despite the cold weather.
Titled "A Morning I Felt Ashamed of Myself," the post appeared on the district’s Let’s Give Praise message board, which is typically used by residents to commend local government officials.
“I climb the mountain behind my house every day,” the post began.
The resident, identified by the surname Park, wrote that on Jan. 17, he was hiking Jangsu Mountain in Bupyeong District as usual when he noticed something interesting: A man digging up trash that had been buried beneath the ground and gathering it into a single pile.
“I stood there watching,” Park wrote. “Other residents glanced over, but no one spoke to him. So I went up, said hello, and asked why he was cleaning up trash alone.”
Park said they relied on a smartphone translation app to communicate, since they did not speak the same language.
Trash collected by a foreign national after being gathered from a nearby mountain. Captured from the Bupyeong District Office website
The man is an American who came to Korea in 2024 and now works in an office.
Having recently moved to Bupyeong, he commutes about three hours a day by subway to his workplace in Gangnam on Seoul Metro Line 7.
When Park asked whether he worked in a profession related to the environment, the man replied that he did not.
“His face and ears were red from the cold, and I couldn’t help imagining how tired he must have been, coming out on a weekend morning after a full week of work,” Park wrote. “Watching him, I just felt ashamed.”
According to the post, the man explained that once he gathered the trash in one place, his friends would report it to the district office so that it could be collected.
“I realized how indifferent I had been, despite living in the neighborhood for so long,” Park wrote. He added that the two exchanged phone numbers and promised to clean the area together next time.
The post ended with praise for what Park described as the man’s admirable attitude.
Online reactions to subsequent media coverage echoed that sentiment, with commenters urging others not to litter and saying that small acts of consideration like this deserve wider attention.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.