Hygiene Controversy at Taebaeksan Snow Festival
Taebaek City Dismantles Stall Within a Day
At the 'Taebaeksan Snow Festival,' a vendor was caught melting a plastic Makgeolli bottle in a large pot used to cook fish cakes, sparking a hygiene controversy. In response, the local government dismantled the stall and issued an apology within a day.
On February 1, the city of Taebaek in Gangwon Province stated, "In relation to the hygiene issue raised on January 31 regarding the fish cake and Makgeolli stall, we conducted an emergency on-site inspection this morning," adding, "We have completed the immediate suspension of business activities and dismantling of the facility in question."
A plastic Makgeolli bottle soaked in fish cake broth. Screenshot from social networking service (SNS)
The previous day, a post appeared on a social networking service (SNS) stating, "I visited the Taebaeksan Snow Festival and witnessed a vendor putting a plastic Makgeolli bottle into a pot of fish cake soup." According to the video, the poster, a tourist identified as A, stopped by the stall on the way back from the festival and witnessed the shocking scene. When a customer mentioned, "The Makgeolli is frozen," the vendor submerged the frozen plastic Makgeolli bottle directly into the pot containing fish cakes. A's camera captured the entire scene.
A said, "I saw two bottles of Makgeolli being soaked in the span of five minutes," adding, "It was the same broth I had just been eating, but after seeing the whole plastic bottle go in, I couldn't eat any more and just left." A protested to the vendor, but the vendor reportedly replied that "it was only for a short moment, so it's fine."
Follow-up Administrative Measures According to Regulations
The video released by A surpassed 4 million views in just one day, becoming a major topic of discussion. As public criticism intensified, the city of Taebaek announced the previous day, "We have conducted an on-site inspection and taken immediate action against the stall in question, and we will re-examine the overall hygiene and safety management at the festival venue." The city then dismantled the stall within a day.
The city of Taebaek stated, "Taking this incident as a lesson, we will significantly strengthen hygiene inspections and supervision throughout the festival venue during the remaining festival period to ensure that such issues do not recur," adding, "We sincerely apologize once again for the disappointment and inconvenience caused to those who visited the festival in good spirits." The city also plans to take follow-up administrative measures against the stall in question in accordance with relevant regulations.
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