Two Fish Cake Skewers for 10,000 Won at Cherry Blossom Festival... Why the 'Overcharging Controversy' Keeps Repeating [Chosun Price Records]

⑫Repeated Overcharging Controversy at Local Festivals Every Year

Complaints about being overcharged after visiting local festivals are flooding social networking services (SNS) and online communities. At the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival in Changwon, Gyeongnam, controversy arose over selling two fish cake skewers for 10,000 won, and the 10,000 won spicy pork rice bowl sold at the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul was criticized for its poor contents. The chicken gangjeong at the Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival was also pointed out for its small portion, consisting of eight pieces of chicken gangjeong and a few pieces of potato for 15,000 won.

A controversy over price gouging arose regarding a 15,000 won fried chicken purchased at the cherry blossom festival in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, shared on an online community.
/Photo by Online Community

Since last month, the government has formed and operated a joint overcharging inspection task force (TF) composed of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, local governments, merchant associations, consumer groups, and price monitoring teams at local festivals with more than one million visitors. Additionally, the government has mandated the display of sales prices for festival foods and strengthened continuous on-site inspections and monitoring through joint public-private inspection teams.

Although the government and local authorities have taken strong measures to eradicate the 'overcharging' controversy, the issue has repeated this year as well. Overall price increases have led to higher food prices at festival stalls, and the lack of clear standards for what constitutes 'overcharging' or 'expensive' makes it difficult to set reasonable prices uniformly. Moreover, currently, local governments can only take legal action against 'unauthorized stalls,' not against high prices themselves.

Amidst the cherry blossoms in full bloom along Yangjaecheon Stream in Seoul, a citizen taking a walk on the 4th is enjoying the cherry blossoms with their pet dog. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

There is a fundamental reason why prices at local festivals tend to be high. When local festivals take place, so-called itinerant merchants open stalls, and these merchants set base prices high to earn profits exceeding the rent they paid for their spots. Some merchants, trying to recover losses from the COVID-19 period or aiming to make large profits during the festival season, exhibit a 'one-shot' mentality by charging expensive prices.

The proliferation of unauthorized stalls is also a factor. In fact, most overcharging controversies occur at unauthorized stalls. For example, last year at the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, some of the 21 unauthorized stalls caught were problematic cases where temporary tents were set up in parking lots and food was sold at high prices.

The government expects the overcharging controversy to subside as the price display system becomes established during this transitional period. Currently, at festivals like Jinhae Gunhangje, which attract crowds exceeding one million, authorized and registered stalls are implementing the price display system, creating an environment where consumers can choose not to purchase if they find prices undesirable. Furthermore, the government hopes that if criminal prosecutions and penalties are imposed on unauthorized street vendors, where overcharging controversies are concentrated, the issue of overpricing will improve next year.

An official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Regional Economy Division said, "We are working to establish the price display system so that consumers can create an atmosphere where they do not have to purchase if the product does not meet their expectations."

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