Only Korean Customers Charged for Water? ... Anti-Korean Controversy at Japanese Sushi Chain

Famous Osaka Sushi Chain 'Gankosushi' Shows 180 Yen Water Charge Only on Korean Menu
Company Says "Labeling Error... Now Correctly Displayed as 0 Yen"

Menu touchpad at the Shin-Osaka Station branch of a famous sushi chain in Osaka, Japan. The Japanese version (left) offers free water, whereas the Korean version (right) charges for it. / Photo by Twitter Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The famous sushi chain 'Gankosushi' in Osaka, Japan, has sparked anti-Korean controversy among some netizens after it was revealed on domestic social networking services (SNS) that only the Korean menu charged for water. As the controversy grew, the company posted an apology on its official website.

Earlier on the 1st, a netizen who introduced themselves as a Korean resident living in Japan posted on their Twitter account, "I was about to leave after enjoying delicious sushi, but I felt upset at the end," claiming, "When ordering water, the Korean menu charged 180 yen (about 2,000 won), while the Japanese menu was 0 yen."

The netizen posted a photo of the Korean order touchpad showing the price for water, adding, "I was so shocked that I checked the English and Chinese menus as well," and "They were all 0 yen."

They continued, "I called the staff and asked, and they apologized and said water was free and brought it to me," emphasizing, "It's quite a large chain and the sushi is delicious, so I used to go often, but I will never go again."

After this fact became known, some domestic netizens raised their voices criticizing the company, saying, "Isn't this discrimination against Koreans?" One netizen said, "Isn't this an example of discriminating customers based on nationality?" and "I suspect the company has anti-Korean tendencies." Another netizen claimed, "Isn't this a 'trick' to charge Koreans more money?"

As the controversy grew, the company posted an apology on its official website on the 2nd. In the apology, the company stated, "There was an error in the menu display," and "It has now been corrected to 0 yen."

Meanwhile, the Osaka area where the company is located has previously experienced discrimination controversies against Koreans.

In 2016, it was revealed that the Japanese sushi chain 'Ichibasushi' Osaka branch committed so-called 'wasabi terror' by putting more wasabi than the standard amount in sushi served to Korean customers.

There was also controversy that an employee working at this branch made discriminatory remarks such as "chung" (a derogatory term for Koreans) toward Korean customers.

As the controversy grew, the company at the time apologized on its official website, saying, "We apologize for causing controversy on the internet regarding customer service," and explained, "Many customers from overseas often request more wasabi, so we provided it as a service without prior confirmation."

However, the company denied the allegations that employees made discriminatory remarks, stating, "There is no such fact."