![Crowds gather in front of the 'scarf ajeossi' vendor's stall at Namdaemun Market [Instagram]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/11/06/news-p.v1.20261106.fa8140c85096437b8c3e494c5190417b_P1.jpg)
A scarf vendor at Seoul's Namdaemun Market who became a social media sensation with sharp, irreverent wit has hired private security guards after crowds grew too large to manage safely.
The vendor, identified only as A, deployed three employees from a private security firm in front of the stall starting at 11 a.m. Friday, according to Yonhap TV. The move aimed to prevent accidents caused by the overwhelming number of visitors and to maintain order inside the market.
The situation had already forced A to close temporarily on Saturday.
After a few days off, A reopened Wednesday, but the crowds had not thinned — and the commotion escalated to the point where police were called to the scene.
A shut down again Thursday. In a post on the social media account "Namdaemun Dadaguri," A admitted feeling the strain. "Honestly, there is an enormous sense of pressure and anxiety in one corner of my heart from all this unexpected attention and love I've been receiving lately," the post read, adding that A worried someone in the crowds might get hurt. "It is also true that I feel a little afraid of what may come," the post continued.
The Namdaemun Market merchants' association is also on high alert, working to prevent accidents.
A sells six scarves for 10,000 won ($7) and recently went viral after videos of the vendor cracking jokes with customers spread online.
The humor runs on cheerful self-deprecation and mock discouragement: A tells shoppers "Don't spend your money — this looks even worse once you get home," or "Use it to wipe your sweat, don't actually wear it out." When a customer rummages through a pile of scarves on the display, A quips, "Don't act so refined — you have to dig through it to find anything."
The act has drawn crowds who come not to buy scarves but simply to hear the banter or take photos, creating safety concerns and causing disruption for neighboring vendors.
paq@heraldcorp.com
