"I Ordered 40,000 Won Galchi Jorim, but Only Two Pieces Arrived"

Galchi Jorim Ordered for 39,000 Won via Delivery
Consumer Disappointed with Portion Size... "Is This Correct?"

A story has emerged expressing dissatisfaction over the very small portion size of braised hairtail fish (Galchi Jorim) ordered for about 40,000 won.

Braised cutlassfish ordered for delivery by Mr. A.
[Photo by Online Community]

On the 15th, a post titled "Is this correct for a 39,000 won Galchi Jorim?" was uploaded on an online community. The author, Mr. A, said, "I ordered delivery for 39,000 won, but only two pieces of hairtail fish arrived," and added, "I wondered if the food I received was really a single serving, so I immediately called the restaurant."

According to Mr. A, the restaurant owner who received the complaint call explained, "Hairtail fish is expensive these days, so that amount is correct," and "Since one hairtail fish costs 40,000 won, we gave two pieces for 39,000 won." The photos Mr. A shared show 2 to 3 pieces of hairtail fish mixed in a spicy sauce. Next to them are two pieces of sliced potatoes, along with vegetables such as onions and zucchini.

Mr. A asked for opinions, saying, "The side dishes included only a small portion of octopus salted seafood and one octopus leg. No matter how I think about it, the price is too expensive. Is this right?"

Netizens who saw the story reacted with comments such as, "Two pieces is too little," "That means 20,000 won per piece of hairtail," "Even if hairtail fish has gotten expensive, I wouldn’t have ordered if I knew only two pieces would come," and "The restaurant deserves criticism for serving it like that."

On the other hand, some netizens responded, "I understand because hairtail prices are high these days," "It looks like three pieces, not two, so that’s quite generous," and "Considering the seasoning, vegetables, and hairtail price in the braised dish, 40,000 won is just right."

Meanwhile, according to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation in April, the average price of one domestic refrigerated hairtail fish (large) was 19,352 won, which rose by more than 5,000 won compared to January (14,306 won). The price of medium-sized refrigerated hairtail fish was 9,683 won per fish, showing a 23% increase compared to the average price (7,855 won).

The sharp rise in hairtail prices is due to a more than 70% decrease in catch volume compared to the previous year. According to statistics from the Fisheries Industry Observation Center of the Korea Maritime Institute, hairtail production in March was 950 tons, a 75% decrease from the same period last year (3,769 tons).