"Hwang Gyo-ik, who called 'Tteokbokki = Junk Food'... 'How about November 11 as Tteokbokki Day?'"

Photo by tvN Wednesday Food Talk capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik, who previously claimed that Tteokbokki is "junk food," proposed making November 11 "Tteokbokki Day."

On the 12th, Hwang wrote on his Facebook, "The food most commonly made with garaetteok (cylindrical rice cakes) is Tteokbokki. How about changing November 11, Garaetteok Day, to Tteokbokki Day? It might be a bit better than Garaetteok Day," he said.

He continued, "It seems there were some (Garaetteok Day) events yesterday, but they mostly passed quietly," pointing out, "This is due to the limitations of the event being a local initiative created in response to Pepero Day and the fact that Garaetteok as a food is not very appealing."

He added, "Although rice Tteokbokki is made from rice, when sold at snack bars and the like, the origin of the rice does not have to be indicated. This was one of the government's tricks during former President Lee Myung-bak's administration to consume large amounts of imported rice stored in government warehouses under the name of 'globalizing Tteokbokki.'"

Hwang emphasized, "I believe the public, who consider Tteokbokki a soul food, would strongly agree, so this is an idea I bring up around this time every year."

Photo by Hwang Kyo-ik, captured from Facebook

Following some media reports criticizing his past remarks that "Tteokbokki is junk food," Hwang posted an additional statement.

He addressed the media criticizing him, saying, "If it is junk food, do you not eat it? I know it's junk food, but I still eat it," and added, "Tteokbokki is junk food. It has a stimulating taste and lacks nutritional balance."

He further stated, "In Korea, hamburgers and pizza are considered junk food. Based on what is commercially available, which food among hamburgers, pizza, and Tteokbokki do you think is the most stimulating and nutritionally unbalanced?"

Meanwhile, in August, Hwang referred to Tteokbokki as "junk food" and argued, "Although late, Tteokbokki should be designated as a 'prohibited food in front of schools.' The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety should correct this." However, prior to this statement, it was revealed that he had filmed a Tteokbokki commercial, which led to criticism from some members of the public.

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