“Why Is It Just Korea?” — Netizens React To A “Mistake” In Sam Smith’s Official Tour Merchandise

Artist Sam Smith will soon be performing live in Asia. He’s about to embark on a tour that spans various countries including Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Singapore. He released a special version of his tour t-shirt for the Asia tour. The front of the white t-shirt is a two-by-two polaroid photo of himself, while the back spells out each city he will perform in.

Koreans quickly spotted one “city” that didn’t fit in. While other countries had their cities such as Bangkok and Taipei spelled out, South Korea’s representative was written as “Songpa-gu” on the shirt.

Although the correct city to include would have been Seoul, it seems like Sam Smith’s team was confused about South Korea’s city and street system. The stadium at which Sam Smith will play at is located in Songpa-gu. The “-gu” moniker is used to refer to districts, and is the next denomination after the city itself. Netizens had a laugh at the merchandise.

• Why is it only Songpa-gu that’s Songpa-gu LOL.
• Songpa-gu LOOOOL.
• LOOOOOL
• I think this mistake happened because they don’t know about our districts or neighborhood systems well.
• The residents of Songpa-gu will be so proud.
• Ah, f*ck. LOL.
• Not Seoul but Songpa-gu LOL.

His show plays at the KSPO Dome on October 18, 2023.