Heart-Stopping Moment... Sanitation Worker's Plea: "Please Dispose of Real Dolls Properly"

Cases Often Mistaken for Corpses

With the import clearance of human-shaped dolls called 'realdolls' now possible, a sanitation worker has appealed to buyers to consider the disposal process before purchasing.

On the 30th, a post titled "People Buying Realdolls, Please Think Deeply" was uploaded on an online community.

The author, A, who identified themselves as a sanitation worker, wrote, "Sometimes live dogs or cats come out of boxes, so I prepare myself mentally when opening suspicious boxes, but this time, no mental preparation was needed at all."

A explained, "I saw hair and thought it was a wig, so I pulled it. Then a decapitated head came out, and I was so shocked I don't know what to say," describing the moment.

He continued, "Maybe because it was embarrassing to throw away, arms and legs were wrapped separately in newspapers and discarded, and the head was roughly wrapped. It was an old model and shabby, but I think I now understand what it feels like for your heart to stop," he shared.

He added, "It's awkward to just throw this away, and cutting it up is scary. If you put it in a bag, it's embarrassing to throw away, so think about disposal before buying," he urged.

A said, "Just imagining it while writing this makes my hands tremble again," recounting the chilling experience of seeing a discarded realdoll.

Netizens who read the post responded with comments such as "Just imagining it is scary," "I hope it is clearly marked as a realdoll when discarded," "Nowadays, if you call the company you bought it from, they will collect it," and "This could cause trauma."

Besides sanitation worker A's case, there have been frequent incidents where realdolls were mistaken for female corpses. Previously, in May last year, a man visiting a reservoir in Gonjiam, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, found a realdoll lying on the overgrown ground and was shocked, thinking it was an abandoned corpse, and shared his experience online.

Real doll. The photo is not related to any specific content in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The man said, "All the hair was gone, so anyone would think it was a corpse left to decompose into bones," adding, "I really thought I was going to die from fear."

In August last year, in Bangkok, Thailand, a realdoll with its lower garments removed appeared on a beach, prompting police to respond.

Meanwhile, the Korea Customs Service announced on December 26 last year that it revised the "Realdoll Import Clearance Guidelines" to allow the clearance of full-body adult-shaped realdolls. However, full-body realdolls resembling minors, those modeled after specific individuals, and products with electrical functions such as heating, voice, or massage are prohibited from import.