On the 2nd, the Korea Customs Service posted a photo on its official social networking service (social media) showing Ppanibottle receiving the commendation and wrote, “The Korea Customs Service supports Ppanibottle’s next journey.”
The citation, dated the 25th of last month and issued in the name of Customs Commissioner Lee Myung-gu, stated, “You actively cooperated with the smooth execution of customs administration and made significant contributions to its development.”
The Korea Customs Service also highlighted the collaborative video released last August explaining the travelers’ personal effects declaration system, noting, “Let’s watch the video Customs and Ppanibottle made together.”
Last year, the Customs Service promoted its work through a piece titled “What’s Up With Ppanibottle? (Explaining the Traveler Personal Effects Declaration System with Travel YouTuber Ppanibottle).” The agency also ran a quiz event to mark its 55th anniversary, which drew a strong response.
Last year, the agency also won multiple awards: the Public Sector Grand Prize at the 2025 Korea Digital Advertising Awards (KODAF 2025); the Excellence Award in the public interest campaign category at the 33rd Korea PR Awards; the top government-ministry prize at the 2025 Korea Social Media Awards; the YouTube top award in the government-ministry category at the 2025 Social Media of the Year; and the YouTube Special Award in the social media category at the 2025 Korea Communication Awards.
Ppanibottle is a travel-focused YouTuber with 2.55 million subscribers, reportedly the largest audience among South Korean travel YouTubers.
