Incheon Airport Convenience Store Employees Who Helped Japanese Tourist Find Earphones Receive Special Merit Award

Earphones Retrieved from Narrow Gap by Dedicated Employees Draw Attention
Jeongho Han and Kira Takeuchi Honored for Their Efforts: "Boosting National Reputation"

Employees stationed at Incheon International Airport, who became the center of attention for diligently helping a Japanese tourist retrieve their earphones at a convenience store, have received an award.

Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 16th that it has given a special merit award to the employees in question.

In June, at a convenience store in Terminal 1 of Incheon Airport, a Japanese tourist about to depart accidentally dropped their wireless earphones into a gap between the display shelves. An employee at the store lay down to search for the lost item. The tourist later posted about the incident on social networking services (SNS), which gained high views and much empathy in Japan, making it a widely discussed story.

The tourist reportedly said, "If it is difficult to retrieve, it's okay to just leave it." However, the employee went so far as to dismantle the screen at the bottom of the shelf, lay flat on the ground, and carefully feel around the dusty area beneath the display to eventually find and return the dropped earphones, leaving a lasting impression.

The individuals at the heart of this story are Jeongho Han (26) and Kira Takeuchi (23). The corporation highly praised their kindness for shaping a positive first impression of Korea and contributing to the improvement of the nation's reputation.

The award ceremony was held the previous day in a meeting room inside Terminal 1 of Incheon Airport, with participants including Nogyeongrae Ro, Director of Commercial Services at the corporation, as well as corporation and convenience store representatives. They expressed their gratitude to the employees involved in the story.

On the day of the ceremony, Jeongho Han commented, "I simply did what I felt was right because I want everyone who comes to the airport to take away only good memories of Korea, so I am grateful to have received an award for this."

Kira Takeuchi also shared, "Regardless of nationality, helping passengers in distress is a natural duty as a member of the airport team, and I will continue to put my sincerity into every moment."

Incheon International Airport Corporation stated that, as Incheon Airport is the gateway to Korea and forms visitors' first impressions of the country, it will continue to actively encourage and reward such stories of employee kindness in the future.

Furthermore, as the number of foreign tourists entering Korea increases—with the airport serving around 74.07 million passengers last year, the highest since its opening—the corporation plans to review all airport facilities and services to further enhance passenger convenience.

Beomho Kim, Acting President and CEO of Incheon International Airport Corporation, expressed, "I would like to thank not only the protagonists of this story but also more than 94,000 stationed employees working in their respective roles to create Korea’s first impression. As the gateway to Korea, we will continue to provide safer, more convenient, and friendlier airport services to inbound tourists, and actively support achieving the goal of 30 million foreign visitors to Korea as soon as possible."

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