This is just a bizarre story. Apparently the diners knew they were eating ants, but the ants being served were not authorized to be sold in South Korea. Seems like a dumb reason to send a guy to possibly send a guy to jail over:
This photo distributed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety shows the dried ant products it says were used by a local restaurant. (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety)
Prosecutors on Monday sought a one-year prison term for the owner of a two-Michelin-starred restaurant accused of serving ants that are not approved for use as food ingredients in South Korea.
The owner, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of violating the Food Sanitation Act. Prosecutors also sought a fine of 20 million won ($13,525) for the restaurant’s operating company.
The owner and the company were indicted for allegedly importing dried ant products from the US and Thailand and using them as garnishes on dishes served at the restaurant for about four years beginning in 2021.
This is quite a turn over in restaurants when the number of closures is even worse than the COVID years:
South Korea’s restaurant industry is in the midst of its worst downturn in nearly two decades, with over 107,000 eateries shutting down in 2024 — the highest number on record.
For the first time in 16 years, more restaurants closed than opened, signaling a shift in a sector once known for its resilience and fierce competition. A combination of rising ingredient costs, slowing consumer spending, and post-pandemic economic struggles has created a perfect storm in the industry.
According to government data, 10.4 percent of full-service restaurants closed in 2024, the highest closure rate since 2005. In the capital city of Seoul, the rate was even higher at 13 percent, while Sejong City saw a staggering 14.6 percent closure rate. These figures reflect a growing financial strain on restaurant owners, who have faced mounting challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the dining industry.
I fail to see how opening a Japanese restaurant in South Korea makes someone a traitor:
Korean archer An San, who won three gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in Japan in 2021, caused a stir with an online post that described a Japanese-themed restaurant as a “traitor to the nation.” The restaurant owner accused the Olympian’s remark of wrongly branding his business as being a pro-Japanese collaborator.
The 23-year-old shared a photo of a signboard saying “international departures” bound to Japan on Instagram Saturday, with a comment that read “How come there are so many traitors to the nation in Korea.”
The photo is no longer available, as it was an Instagram Story that disappeared 24 hours after upload.
The sign in An’s post was part of the entrance to a Japan-themed restaurant at a shopping mall’s food complex in the southwestern city of Gwangju, where a Japanese hot pot pub brand created and operated by Koreans is in business.
An’s post triggered online users to harass the business owner, who ended up uploading a letter of plea to end the controversy.
You can read more at the link, but if someone opens a Chinese restaurant are they traitors too? Or how about a Korean operating a McDonald’s? Are they also traitors?
The next time I am in Tokyo I have to check this place out:
Travel enthusiasts living in Japan can “visit” another country at First Airlines, a restaurant that uses virtual reality technology to transport customers to a variety of destinations. First Airlines, on the eighth floor of Parkheim West in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district, re-creates the experience of an international flight right down to walking the streets of a foreign city. The restaurant foyer simulates the waiting area at an airport gate, complete with a flight information display and a departure counter.
A person dressed as a gate agent greets guests and hands them a boarding pass and a make-believe Japanese passport stamped with the name of their destination. I booked a first-class “flight” to Rome. Other flights are available to Germany, Spain, New Zealand, Finland, France, Ukraine, Hawaii and New York City. The experience is two hours long with a three-course meal. Once customers are checked in, a “flight attendant” guides them to their seats; the restaurant is built to resemble an aircraft interior, with actual seats from Airbus 310 and 340 airliners.
Someone needs to give Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung a lesson in capitalism:
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung purchases persimmons at a traditional market in Gwanak District, Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung stirred controversy with his idea of putting a cap on the number of restaurants in the country, which the main opposition party described as “a totalitarian idea.”
During his visit to a traditional market in Gwanak District, Seoul, Wednesday, Lee floated the idea, saying, “I have a thought of running a system that puts a cap on the number of restaurants.”
Lee mentioned the idea while expressing concerns over the large number of people opening eateries, only to close them down after failing to make ends meet.
“Though debate is required for this idea, I think the system is necessary,” Lee said during a meeting with stall owners at the market. “I wasn’t able to introduce the system due to concerns that it could infringe on freedom, but I don’t think such a cap is a bad idea … It is not freedom to open restaurants randomly and go broke. Good regulations are needed.”
People form a long queue to enter a newly opened Shake Shack store in Seoul on April 6, 2017. The store is the third of its kind in Seoul. Shake Shack is an American fast restaurant chain based in New York. (Yonhap)
The Joong Ang Ilbo has a pretty interesting story about a Korean-American who was deported from the US after a number of gang and drug related arrests. He turned his life around in Korea by opening a Mexican restaurant where he cooks food that his grandmother from his third foster family taught him how to cook:
Kim and his wife, Kendra Jeong, co-run El Pino 323 in Mapo District, western Seoul, a Mexican restaurant. El Pino is the name of a pine tree near his grandmother’s house; 323 is the area code of East L.A. [PARK SANG-MOON]June 18, 2002 was a momentous day for Korea. In a World Cup match held in Daejeon, the national football team defeated Italy 2 to 1, propelling it into the quarterfinals for the first time ever.
It was a momentous day for Kim Dong-hwa too – the worst in a life of continuous lows. Kim and his sister had been abandoned by their Korean mother in infancy. As small children, they were flown from Korea to the U.S. to live with a new mother and father. The adoption didn’t take. The pair bounced around, were physically and emotionally abused. Kim ended up running with a gang in East Los Angeles. In his 20s, he was convicted of gang related crimes.
Kim was expelled from the U.S. and sent to a native land he knew nothing about. He landed on the day of Korea’s victory over Italy.
Kim recalls his first glimpses of Seoul driving in from Incheon International Airport. “It was a sea of red,” he says. The national team’s uniforms were red and fans wore red to support them and celebrate.
“It was chaos here. I thought my mind was going to blow up.
I recommend reading the rest at the link because it is a great story to read about. Kim definitely did find a good nitch to open a restaurant for because Seoul has long been lacking in quality Mexican restaurants.
Via a reader tip comes this news about a Korean-American man in South Carolina who accidentally posted a racist help wanted sign at his wife’s restaurant and is now under attack by critics:
A South Carolina restaurant owner which caused outrage after it placed a ‘Help Wanted’ sign in its window along with the message ‘minorities need not apply’ has apologized for her mistake.
Kenny’s Home Cooking in Spartanburg placed the sign in the window seeking more staff, although when diners noticed the message at the bottom they posted photographs on the internet.
The sign had the racist message written in both English and Spanish.
However, the restaurant’s owner, who is Japanese, claimed any offense was unintentional as they purchased the sign on eBay and did not understand the messages at the bottom.
Owner Sook ‘Sue’ Shin told WYFF News: ‘I never ever meant that, so I’m really sorry.’
A friend claimed they mistook the word ‘minorities’ for ‘minors’.
Shin’s husband, who is Korean, purchased the sign on eBay. [The Daily Mail]
You can read more at the link, but I can easily understand how someone who uses English as a second language can make this mistake. However, it hasn’t stopped people from expressing their outrage at the owners. It seems to me the real racists are the ones criticizing this couple for not understanding English better.
