Have you ever gone out to throw away a delivery box and seen a neighbor tear off the shipping label first? They fold the box before throwing it away, but they peel off the white paper stuck to the outside and take it with them. What could be inside this one small piece of paper? ## What a Single Shipping Label Holds If you look closely at the shipping label, you'll see it is divided into sections. At the top, there are the sender's name and phone number. In the middle are the recipient's name, phone number, and home address. At the bottom there's a delivery note like "Please leave it at the door." So this piece of paper tells people who I am, where I live, and even when I'm away from home. ## Why not just throw it away? In Korea, couriers leave packages at your front door. So even empty boxes end up as they are at the apartment recycling area, where anyone can see them. Koreans often hear stories, in the news and from people around them, about someone whose name and phone number leaked and who then received spam calls or fake text messages (smishing). So the thought "my name and address must never end up in the trash" has become second nature. ## Methods you can try right away You can simply tear the shipping label into small pieces by hand. If it's hard to tear off, firmly scribble over your name, phone number, and address with a black pen. They also sell roller stamps that cover up just the text. Whether waybill paper can be recycled may differ from region to region, so please check the recycling guidelines where you live. For boxes, just remove the tape, flatten them, and put them out. A foreign student, "Why does everyone tear off the paper first?" once asked me that. Now you know the answer, right? It's a very small habit, but it's the Korean way of protecting your home.