Plastic Makgeolli Bottle Dunked in Hot Fish Cake Broth... Merchant Responds to Complaint: "It Was Only for a Moment"

Hygiene Controversy at Taebaeksan Snow Festival
Taebaek City Dismantles Stall Within a Day

A controversy over hygiene erupted after a merchant was caught melting a plastic Makgeolli bottle in a large pot of fish cake broth at the 'Taebaeksan Snow Festival'. 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 announced, "This morning, we conducted an emergency on-site inspection in response to the hygiene concerns raised on January 31 regarding the fish cake and Makgeolli stall," adding, "We have completed the immediate suspension of business activities and dismantling of the facility."

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 witnessed a merchant putting a plastic Makgeolli bottle into a pot of fish cake broth while visiting the Taebaeksan Snow Festival." According to the video, the tourist who posted it, identified as Mr. A, stopped by a snack bar on the way back from the festival and witnessed a shocking scene. When a customer said, "The Makgeolli is frozen," the merchant submerged the frozen plastic Makgeolli bottle directly into the container filled with fish cake. Mr. A captured the entire scene on camera.

Mr. A said, "I saw two bottles of Makgeolli being soaked within five minutes," and added, "It was the same broth I had just been eating, but after seeing the entire plastic bottle go in, I couldn't eat any more and just left." Mr. A protested to the merchant, but the merchant reportedly replied that "it was only for a short time, so it's fine."

Follow-up Administrative Measures According to Regulations

The video released by Mr. A went viral, surpassing 4 million views in just one day. As public criticism intensified, Taebaek City announced the previous day, "We have conducted an on-site inspection and taken immediate action against the stall, and we will re-examine hygiene and safety management throughout the festival grounds." The city dismantled the stall within a day.

Taebaek City stated, "Taking this incident as a lesson, we will significantly strengthen hygiene inspections and supervision throughout the festival grounds for the remainder of the festival to prevent recurrence of similar issues," and added, "We deeply apologize once again for the disappointment and inconvenience caused to those who visited the festival with high expectations." The city also plans to take follow-up administrative measures against the problematic stall in accordance with regulations.