Watch where you throw that pollack! Woman criticized for blessing ritual for new car in middle of the street.

A video showing a woman performing a traditional blessing ritual for her new car in the middle of a street has sparked a backlash online for causing a potential traffic hazard.

The clip, posted Tuesday on an online community, shows the woman parked on the side of a narrow road, walking around her vehicle while sprinkling alcohol and tossing pieces of dried pollack — a common ritual item — onto the street.

“If you want to perform a ritual, do it in your own parking lot or in an empty space with no one around — why do it on a narrow street where cars are passing by?” wrote the user who posted the video.

At one point, the dried pollack she threw nearly struck a passing car, creating a potentially dangerous situation.

Online users criticized her actions, with one comment reading, “With rituals like that, her car won’t be safe — it’ll probably end up scrapped faster than anyone else’s.”

Performing such a ritual in the middle of the road may be considered an act of obstructing traffic under Article 68 of the Road Traffic Act. Violators can face a fine of up to 100,000 won ($69) or detention.

Additionally, throwing objects on the road and interfering with vehicle movement could be deemed a violation of safe driving obligations under Article 46 of the same law, resulting in fines and penalty points.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY SHIN HYE-YEON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]