One Ginseng Root Samgyetang 13,000 Won... "This Is the Real Local Festival"

Chungnam Geumsan-gun Festival's 'Concept Prices' Spark Attention
This Year's Local Festivals Contrasted with 'Overcharging Controversy'

Amid recent controversies over inflated prices at local festivals, a festival held in Geumsan-gun, Chungnam is gaining late attention as a 'reasonable price' event.

[Photo by Online Community Capture]

On the 15th, multiple online communities shared a post titled "Update on Preventing Overcharging at the Geumsan Samgyetang Festival." The author, who attended the Geumsan Samgyetang Festival held for three days from the 7th to the 9th at the Geumsan World Ginseng Expo Plaza, revealed on-site photos along with a note stating "Unified pricing and guidance, kiosk introduction, Samgyetang at 13,000 won and seafood pancake at 10,000 won."

The shared food photo shows a tray containing Samgyetang, pajeon (green onion pancake), kimchi, and more. Notably, the Samgyetang includes a whole chicken and a whole ginseng root placed on top.

Along with this, a photo of the menu board shows that the price of Samgyetang, featuring characteristics from five regions within Geumsan-gun, is uniformly set at 13,000 won. Other menu items such as pajeon, golbaengi muchim (spicy sea snail salad), boiled pork slices, and assorted ginseng vegetable tempura are priced at 10,000 won.

The introduction of a fixed-price system and kiosks that accept card payments to enhance consumer convenience also received praise. Netizens responded with comments like, "At today's prices, 13,000 won for a bowl of Samgyetang is truly a 'hyeja' (internet slang meaning cheap price with excellent quality)," and "A real local festival has appeared."

It was reported that about 59,000 people from across the country attended the 3rd Geumsan Samgyetang Festival, consuming around 20,000 chickens and 15,000 kg of ginseng.

Barbecue Plate 50,000 Won · Three Potato Pancakes 25,000 Won... Local Festival Overcharging Controversies

Meanwhile, since the transition to the endemic phase, local festivals have been opening one after another this year, but some have faced backlash due to overcharging controversies.

At the Changwon Jinhae Naval Port Festival in Gyeongnam held in March, a controversy arose over "a barbecue plate costing 50,000 won." The released photo shows a few pieces of pork served with vegetables on a plate.

At the Chunhyang Festival in Namwon, Jeonbuk, netizens criticized the 40,000 won whole pig barbecue as being poor value for the price.

Other controversies over overcharging include the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival selling a bowl of fish cake soup for 10,000 won, and the Chuncheon Makguksu Festival selling three potato pancakes for 25,000 won.