A Meat Restaurant That Charged Soldiers 3,000 Won More Saying "They Eat Enormously" Eventually Closed Down

Adult 16,900 KRW, Military Personnel 19,900 KRW
Controversy Over 'Bold Pricing' Going Against the Trend

A Korean barbecue restaurant in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, which charged soldiers 3,000 won more than regular adults, has ultimately closed down.

On the 24th, an online community posted news that the barbecue restaurant, which had charged adults 16,900 won and soldiers 19,900 won and faced public backlash, has closed. A capture of the restaurant information posted by a netizen on the same day shows that the restaurant, which had been operating since March 2000, filed for closure on January 2nd.

An all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant that faced public backlash for charging an additional 3,000 won only to military personnel has recently been reported to have closed down. The photo shows the menu board during the restaurant's operation. [Photo source = Online community capture]

In particular, the restaurant’s business practices received even harsher criticism as they contrasted sharply with recent stories of citizens showing kindness to unknown soldiers. According to a past review from a customer during the restaurant’s operation, "If there was even one soldier at a table, they would automatically charge the entire group the soldier price without asking."

As the controversy grew, the restaurant owner, Mr. A, explained in an interview with Yonhap News TV in December last year, "We tried not to differentiate prices and operated at a loss for four years. But soldiers coming from a military base 10 km away eat a lot. Each person eats about five servings." He added, "Since we have kids around the same age, we told them to eat as much as they want, but eventually, it became impossible to continue. We really don’t make any profit." Finally, he mentioned, "Due to the large deficit, we plan to close this month," which was later confirmed as true.

Despite these explanations, netizens launched a 'star rating attack' on various platforms, mostly expressing negative reactions such as "How can you discriminate against soldiers instead of taking better care of them?", "They see soldiers as easy targets," and "If you are going to charge differently like that, you shouldn’t run an all-you-can-eat business." On the other hand, some netizens defended the owner, saying, "Restaurants that give discounts to soldiers should be praised, but there’s no need to criticize those who don’t," "I understand the owner’s perspective as a business operator," and "Even at that price, I don’t think the owner makes a profit from soldiers."

Upon hearing about the restaurant’s closure, netizens responded with comments such as "They will probably reopen elsewhere under a different name," "Did they charge soldiers more just before closing?" "They lost everything over just 3,000 won," "Closure was inevitable," and "I understand why they went bankrupt."

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