Culture minister urges Gwangjang Market clean up its act after 'rip-off' claims surface

For months now, Gwangjang Market's food stalls have been receiving flak for allegedly ripping off foreigners and locals alike. Korea's Culture Ministry and the Jongno District Office are posing solutions to remedy the issue.

Bindaetteok (mungbean fritters) at Gwangjang Market in Jongno District, central Seoul [YONHAP]

Korea's representative tourist hotspot Gwangjang Market has its reputation on the line these days.

For months now, its outdoor food stalls have been receiving flak for allegedly ripping off foreigners and locals alike.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon visited the market on Friday where he adamantly told the press that Gwangjang Market isn’t simply a place of business but “something much bigger.”

“Vendors here should know that they aren’t just selling bindaetteok [mungbean fritters] or tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes]; they are purveyors of Korean food culture."

Culture minister Yu In-chon, far right, speaks to food stall vendors at Gwangjang Market in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Friday. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

Gwangjang Market in Jongno District, central Seoul, is a tourist staple. Viral photos of Hollywood actors and global pop stars being affectionately hand-fed pieces of jeon (Korean fritters) by the market's workers, as well as features on Netflix food docuseries like “Street Food” (2019), have given the market an incredible global reach and a reputation as a quintessential Korean food center.

But as the market settled as a tourism hub, it was losing local shoppers and diners — until Covid-19 hit.

The tourist-free market, now on to its 120th year, became a new center for “hip” young Koreans who were finding a fascination with everything retro.

Reading the trend, Onion, a stylish cafe-slash-bakery chain, opened in the place of a 60-year-old bullion store inside Gwangjang Market that had gone out of business. Other modern brands entered the market and its nearby vintage streets, like Appledang, an apple pie shop; Pleats Mama, an up-and-coming sustainable fashion brand; and Abebe Jeju, a cream donut shop.

But with the extra foot traffic, Gwangjang Market also garnered embittered shoppers who claimed that some of the street food carts inside the market are cheating customers.

The issue surfaced earlier this year after a handful of local YouTubers uploaded footage of Gwangjang Market's street food vendors upselling their menu items without properly asking the customers.

For instance, food influencer Koreanfoodman uploaded a video to YouTube Shorts in March where he explains how he and his foreigner friend ordered a 5,000 won ($4) plate of gogi mandu (meat dumplings) in English but were snubbed and served a mix of gogi mandu and kimchi mandu (kimchi dumplings) that costs double the price.

Upon placing their order, the woman owner is recorded responding with, “Mix, mix!” and filmed handing over the more expensive mixed plate.

A screen capture of mixed mandu (dumpling) plate at Gwangjang Market, filmed by food influencer Koreanfoodman in March [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A month earlier, in February, YouTuber Tteokbokqueen filmed herself ordering sundae (blood sausage) at three different food stalls in the market. She was ripped off by two of them, with the owners each selling her a plate of mixed sundae for 10,000 won that included pig’s head meat and steamed liver and lung for an extra 2,000 won.

“I’ll mix in some meat,” one owner is filmed casually saying.

“I remember this happening two years ago too,” Tteokbokqueen says in the video, revealing that some of these food stands have been repeatedly practicing this kind of scam for years.

A screen capture of Gwangjang Market's mixed sundae plate filmed by YouTuber Tteokbokqueen in February [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The market additionally faces criticism about its treatment of customers, inconsistent portion sizes and cash-only policies.

Travel YouTuber Heechulism in November last year filmed his experience of ordering a 15,000 won plate of jeon, which he thought would be enough for him and his two friends visiting from Vietnam to enjoy, considering the price.

But contrary to his expectations, they were met with a meager 10 pieces of jeon.

In disbelief, he asks the owner, “This is 15,000 won?” to which she replies, “That’s why I told you to order more.”

A screen shot of a plate of jeon (Korean fritters) shot by YouTuber Heechulism in November last year [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A civic association representing Gwangjang Market’s businesses and owners reportedly forced a 10-day suspension on the particular jeon stall. It also held a meeting in December with the press, announcing a slate of strict policies, including employing "mystery shoppers” who go undercover as tourists or normal citizens to evaluate the market’s food stand owners and encourage vendors to take credit cards.

Those promises have seemingly fallen short, as similar accusations continue on the web.

The Jongno District Office, however, says that the incidents filmed by these YouTubers should not be generalized to apply to all the food stands.

“We have undercover diners visit some 40 food stands and hand in evaluation sheets,” said Song In-kyeong, head of Jongno District’s Regional Economy Department. “Most of them, besides just about 10 or fewer stands, come back with positive reviews, and for those with problems, we make sure to educate them to provide better and fairer services to customers.”

On the Friday that the Korea JoongAng Daily visited the market, there were some visible efforts made throughout the market’s food stalls to clarify the portions by writing the size of the food in grams.

A few — though not all — had additionally penciled in “mix” sundae and the price in their menus, likely following Tteokbokqueen’s viral video.

Most of the stalls seem to still be accepting only cash — to which Jongno District officials said they are in the process of advising stall owners to apply for credit card readers.

A steet food stand in Gwangjang Market has added the "mix" sundae option and the price on its menu. [LEE JIAN]

The district office is also working on making a new QR code menu that will be distributed to all the food stands by the end of July. Upon accessing the QR code, the new menu offers pictures of the dishes that are actually sold in each of the food stalls, as well as descriptions of the food items and their ingredients in 20 languages.

“We are hopeful that this new system will significantly address the current complaints,” Song said.

Minister Yu was also hopeful after his visit on Friday.

“I was weary today coming here because of the various recent accusations toward Gwangjang Market, but after seeing the market myself and talking to some of the vendors and the government officials in charge, I feel positive that Gwangjang Market will be seeing systematic improvements."

As for changing the mindset of the vendors, it will “take some time.”

“But as a representative space of Korean culinary culture and a tourist hotspot with historical significance, it must be put through due diligence.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]