Foreign Smokes Lit On Fire In Protest

Packs of Marlboros went up in smoke Saturday as protesters demanded that they and other imported cigarettes be banned from South Korea, where smoking foreign brands is often considered unpatriotic.

About 200 women cheered as the 1,000 packs of Mild Sevens, Marlboros, and Yves St. Laurent cigarettes, stacked in the shape of the former headquarters of Japan’s colonial government, caught fire at downtown Topgol park.

“Banish foreign cigarettes!” they chanted in unison, holding up bright signs. The protesters, members of a conservative women’s group, say increasing imports will endanger the livelihood of tobacco farmers.

The headquarters, which can evoke powerful anti-Japanese sentiment, was chosen because the Japanese-made Mild Sevens is the most popular foreign brand, protesters said. Japan ruled Korea as a colony from 1910 to 1945.

Since the tobacco market opened to foreign cigarettes in 1988, imports have risen to a 10 percent market share.