District Office Cafeteria Closures: "We Agree with the Purpose but the Burden Is Real"

Gwangju Dong-gu Office Cafeteria Closed Twice a Month to Revitalize Local Businesses

Employee Meal Costs Around 7,000 Won... Rising Dining Prices and Time Constraints Cause Burden

Dong-gu "We Understand Employee Complaints... Difficult to Ad

Officials affiliated with Dong-gu Office of Gwangju Metropolitan City are using the staff cafeteria located on the basement first floor of the government building on the 17th.
[Photo by Dong-gu Office of Gwangju Metropolitan City]

Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has been facing complaints from employees about increasing the number of closed days for the cafeteria within the district office from once a month to twice a month since last year, aimed at revitalizing the local commercial district.

Employees argue that imposing usage restrictions on a facility introduced for their welfare is inappropriate, and the sharply rising dining-out prices are also a burden.

However, Dong-gu is in a difficult position as the policy was introduced with the purpose of revitalizing the local commercial district, leaving little room to make changes.

According to Dong-gu on the 21st, the cafeteria inside the government building has been designated to be closed twice a month (on even-numbered Fridays) since last year.

Except for the period during COVID-19 when it was closed once a week for quarantine measures, this represents an increase from the previous once-a-month closure.

The closed days were introduced to encourage employees to eat lunch at nearby restaurants and thereby stimulate the local commercial district.

However, employees say that the twice-a-month closure system is subtly burdensome.

The fixed meal allowance printed on civil servants’ pay slips is 140,000 KRW per month, which translates to about 7,000 KRW per meal. They say it is difficult to have a meal for 7,000 KRW given current prices.

Looking at the menu prices at restaurants around the government building, one can guess the reason for the dissatisfaction. Prices are set at 9,500 KRW for ox bone soup and clear soup, 8,000 KRW for kimchi stew and hot stone bibimbap, 7,500 KRW for old-style jajangmyeon, and 9,500 KRW for jjambbong.

Compared to the cafeteria inside the building, where employees can have a filling lunch at a relatively low price, demands to reduce the number of closed days continue to arise.

The cafeteria’s food quality greatly improved when it switched from outsourced operation to direct management in 2013. The average daily number of users increased from about 70 to around 230.

With a well-balanced menu consisting of one main dish such as bulgogi, tteokgalbi, jangjorim, grilled mackerel, or stir-fried dakgalbi, along with four side dishes, employees praise the upgraded menu and excellent cost-effectiveness, making it very popular.

With that amount of money, one can barely buy two rolls of gimbap (3,160 KRW) and jajangmyeon (6,800 KRW) at an external restaurant, while kimchi stew set meal (7,800 KRW), cold noodles (9,400 KRW), bibimbap (9,700 KRW), and knife-cut noodles (8,400 KRW) are out of reach. These are prices of eight representative dining-out items surveyed and announced by the Korea Consumer Agency as of last month.

One civil servant said, "There is a saying that we work powered by meals, so the best welfare is food," adding, "I hope an environment can be created where employees can comfortably use the cafeteria without feeling the burden of sharply rising dining-out prices."

Another civil servant said, "Among the cafeterias in other districts of Gwangju, many operate without any closed days," and added, "While I agree with the purpose of revitalizing the commercial district, from the perspective of civil servants who handle many civil complaints, it is inconvenient to have to rush out to eat."

They also mentioned, "Moreover, there are two employees who work in wheelchairs inside the building, so they rely on colleagues’ help to go out and eat."

The cafeteria management committee is not currently planning to discuss reducing the number of closed days.

An official stated, "We are aware of the internal complaints, but since many restaurants are still struggling financially due to the impact of COVID-19, it seems difficult to adjust the closed days immediately."