Controversy Over 'Fatty Samgyeopsal' Spreads at Jeju Meat Restaurant
Butcher Shop Owner Publicly Criticizes the Establishment
"This Is Real Samgyeopsal" Reveals Prepared Meat
A famous barbecue restaurant located in Jeju sparked controversy after serving pork belly that appeared to be filled with fat, prompting a butcher shop owner to step forward and publicly reprimand the establishment, saying, "This is what real pork belly looks like."
When 'fatty pork belly' became a controversy at a Jeju meat restaurant, self-employed A, who runs a butcher shop, publicly scolded the establishment, saying, "This is the real Samgyeopsal." [Photo by Online Community]
On the 29th, a post titled "Jeju Fatty Pork Belly Criticism" was uploaded to an online community. As of 1 PM on the 30th, the post had garnered over 152,000 views and 3,300 recommendations, becoming a major topic of discussion. The author, Mr. A, who runs a butcher shop, began by saying, "I saw an article about Jeju fatty pork belly and commented on it, which became the top comment."
Earlier on the 29th, Mr. B, who has been living in Jeju for a year, visited a famous pork belly restaurant on the island and publicized the fact that the pork belly served contained a high amount of fat. Photos posted by Mr. B showed that over 98% of the pork belly on the grill was fat. When Mr. B complained to the restaurant staff, the staff responded, "This is actually a lot of meat," and Mr. B ended up paying about 150,000 KRW before leaving the restaurant. This controversy was publicly criticized by Mr. A, who runs a butcher shop.
The condition of samgyeopsal from a famous meat restaurant in Jeju. It can be seen that 98% of it is fat. [Photo by Online Community]
In a comment left on the article, Mr. A stated, "I run a butcher shop. If I show what meat with a lot of lean and normal meat looks like, will you stay quiet? That is a lump of fat, not meat." He added, "I am posting a certification photo related to the comment," and shared, "Today, I manually cut a plate of domestic fresh pork belly with a knife, and I think the pork belly shown in the photo is the normal average pork belly in South Korea," revealing the photo.
Looking at the photo posted by Mr. A, the pork belly differs from the one served at the restaurant Mr. B visited, showing meat with a moderate amount of fat attached. The lean meat ratio is high, with a vivid red color, and the entire plate was sliced so that the fat content is consistent. Mr. A said, "After removing the thick cartilage, I sliced the whole plate as is," and added, "We sell pork belly mixed evenly from the top, middle, and bottom in 600-gram units." Regarding the Jeju fatty pork belly controversy, he criticized, "To the owner who sold fatty pork belly and said, 'This is actually a lot of meat,' your store lacks quality meat, customer service attitude, and proper pricing," and said, "If you want to run a business, at least meet the basics."
Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "The more Jeju is like this, the more people travel to Japan," "It looks like they served pieces cut for cleaning the grill to customers," "This is what real pork belly looks like," "Respect to those who run their business with integrity," and "This is truly proper pork belly."
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