"This Costs 40,000 Won" Local Festival 'Overcharging' Spreads to the Seoul Metropolitan Area... This Time in Suwon

"Soju Served in Water Bottles" Sparks Backlash at Suwon Festival

Recently, as overcharging related to food continues to be a controversy at various local festivals, a similar incident occurred at a festival in Suwon.

On the 14th, a post titled "Review of the Suwon Festival held over the weekend" was uploaded on an online community. The author, Mr. A, began by saying that he attended the ‘2023 Environment Love Festival’ held for four days from the 8th to the 11th at Hwaseong Haenggung Palace in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

He then expressed his astonishment, saying, "I recently saw news about overcharging at local festivals, but I never thought I would actually experience it."

On the 14th, a post titled "Review of the Suwon Festival Held Over the Weekend" was uploaded to an online community. The author, Mr. A, began by saying that he attended the "2023 Environment Love Festival" held for four days from the 8th to the 11th at Hwaseong Haenggung Palace in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. [Photo source=Online Community]

Mr. A said that during the festival, he ordered a 40,000 KRW whole pig barbecue and soju at a street food stall. The photo he shared showed pork laid on top of cabbage. Next to it, a small amount of onions, chili peppers, and ssamjang (fermented soybean paste) were visible.

Mr. A also expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of meat. He explained that the cabbage was piled thickly under the meat to make it look like a large portion, but in reality, it was small.

He pointed out, "The Hwaseong Festival has become a festival hosted by professional street vendors who travel nationwide, rather than Suwon food businesses, which is a harmful consequence."

This street vendor served the soju ordered by Mr. A in a water bottle. Mr. A questioned, "Why did they serve it in a water bottle as if secretly giving soju to high school students?" Photo by Online Community

Also, the street vendor served the soju Mr. A ordered in a water bottle. Mr. A questioned, "Why did they serve it in a water bottle as if secretly giving soju to high school students?"

Netizens who saw this commented, "It looks like they bought a 1.8ℓ bottle of soju and divided it up. Report them," and "Could it be leftover soju collected and poured together from business?"

Ongoing Controversy Over Overcharging at Local Festivals

Recently, issues of overpriced food have been continuously occurring at local festivals and traditional markets.
Photo by Asia Economy

Recently, issues of overcharging for food have been persistent not only at local festivals but also in traditional markets.

At the Namwon Chunhyang Festival held at the end of last month, whole pig barbecue and seafood pancake were served in poor quality relative to their prices, causing controversy. Also, the KBS variety show 1 Night 2 Days recently sparked controversy over overcharging for old-fashioned snacks at Yeongyang Market in Gyeongbuk. As the controversy grew, Yeongyang County issued a public apology, stating that the problem occurred due to inadequate management.

Despite the recurring controversies over food overcharging at local festivals, it is said that it is practically difficult for local governments to directly manage and supervise these events.

This is due to the operational structure of local festivals. The organizations that host and organize local festivals are not local governments but organizing committees or regional associations. These are mainly composed of local associations or merchant unions.

They establish business standards for mobile vendors participating in the festival, select them, and take charge of operating booths (temporary structures) during the festival period.

Mobile vendors must obtain a temporary business permit by filing a temporary business report with each local government to operate booths or food trucks at local festivals. If they sell non-food items such as toys or crafts, they only need to have a business registration certificate and business report certificate along with the temporary business permit. By paying a participation fee to the festival organizing committee or association, they can operate their booths during the festival period.

On the 14th, merchants at Soraepogu Traditional Fish Market in Namdong-gu, Incheon, held a parade to pledge the eradication of 'overcharging'. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

For larger festivals, there are permit agency companies that recruit participating vendors and submit group applications to the organizing committee or local government. In other words, mobile vendors receive business permits from the organizing committee through these permit agencies.

Management of these vendors is carried out by the organizing committee, associations, or local merchant groups, not by the local government. If the local government starts to intervene actively, the organizing committee, associations, or local merchant groups resist. However, when problems like overcharging occur, all criticism is directed at the local government.

In response, local governments explain that they will temporarily strengthen crackdowns, but in reality, they have no means to enforce inspections or sanctions, causing this vicious cycle to continue.