Do You Know About Gender Discrimination in Food Portions at Restaurant Areas: "Men Get More, Women Get Less"?

Some Restaurants Serve Smaller Portions to Female Customers
Sometimes Less Rice Is Served
Restaurant Says "Women Eat Less and Leaving Food Is Uncomfortable"
Women Respond "Why Should We Be Discriminated Against for Paying the Same?" in Outrage

A photo of the same Kalguksu ordered at a restaurant in Seoul. The Kalguksu on the left, ordered by the man, appears to have more. On the right is the Kalguksu ordered by the woman. The woman complained that the portion was small, but the restaurant owner responded that it was served that way because she is a woman. Photo by Reader · Seunggon Han hsg@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "I don't understand why I am being discriminated against when I pay the same amount of money."

Recently, a woman in her mid-20s, office worker A, who visited a restaurant in a busy area of Seoul, experienced a frustrating incident. She ordered the same food as a male colleague from the same department, but it was obvious at a glance that the portion of A's food was smaller.

A immediately complained to the restaurant owner, but the response was even more absurd. A said, "The restaurant owner said that since I am a woman, I would eat less, and that they usually serve women smaller portions." She added, "I pay for my own food, so I don't understand why I am being discriminated against."

Recently, some restaurants serve female customers significantly smaller portions of ordered food or rice compared to males. The restaurant side claims, "Women eat less food, and it is a waste to throw away leftover food."

The problem lies in why the restaurant owner makes such decisions without consulting the customers. This infringes on Article 3 of the Consumer Protection Act, which guarantees consumers the basic right to "consume in a safe and pleasant environment."

Posts condemning this can easily be found on online communities. B, who posted on a community with many housewives, complained, "There is a delicious bean sprout soup restaurant near my house. No matter how loudly I ask for more rice every time I go, I always get less than my husband who goes with me."

She continued, "It suddenly reminded me of when I was in college and the school cafeteria would pile up rice for the male students but give only a little to the female students, so I used to ask my male classmates to bring me rice."

Citizens observing this situation expressed disbelief but some showed understanding.

C, a man in his early 40s who often visits restaurants with female colleagues, said, "I don't understand why restaurants think like that," and pointed out, "They should focus on the food like rice and side dishes." He emphasized, "If the restaurant wants to do that, they should set different prices according to the amount of food served."

Another female office worker in her 30s, D, said, "I don't think there is any woman who hasn't experienced this kind of food discrimination," and added, "Even if we complain each time, nothing changes. It's frustrating."

Reference photo. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, E, a male office worker in his 30s, said, "From what I see, women tend to leave a lot of food uneaten," and added, "I think it's a bit wasteful. I guess that's why restaurants do this."

Because of this situation, more women are choosing franchise restaurants rather than regular ones. A female office worker in her 30s said, "There may be restaurants with more authentic homemade taste, but being discriminated against and feeling upset ruins the appetite," and added, "I prefer to visit franchise restaurants where I can feel comfortable."

However, it is not easy to administratively restrain such food discrimination by some restaurant owners. A representative from the Korea Consumer Agency explained, "It is difficult to take uniform measures against portion discrimination based on gender," and said, "It is appropriate for restaurant owners to actively collect and reflect customers' opinions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.