Gwangjang Market stall suspended after ‘overcharging’ dispute goes viral

A popular YouTuber shares a video alleging she was overcharged at Gwangjang Market. Captured from her YouTube channel

A food stall at Seoul’s Gwangjang Market that faced a storm of criticism for allegedly overcharging a customer has been suspended for ten days.

According to the Gwangjang Market Merchants’ Association on Tuesday, the stall will shut down from Nov. 10 to 19. The association said it met with Jongno District Office on Nov. 6 and 10, and decided on the suspension after internal discussions.

“The case caused significant public concern, so we imposed a ten-day suspension,” the association said. The vendor was said to have asked for the penalty to be issued quickly and voluntarily closed the stall starting Nov. 10.

The controversy erupted after a YouTuber with 1.51 million subscribers, “Weird Sweets Shop,” uploaded a video titled “This makes me not want to visit Gwangjang Market again.”

The video, which has drawn more than 12 million views as of Wednesday, described alleged issues with vendors including unfriendly service, menu switching and unhygienic food handling.

One stall became the center of the backlash. The YouTuber said she ordered sundae (pig intestines stuffed with glass noodles) listed at 8,000 won ($5.90), but the vendor demanded 10,000 won after adding meat without permission. She said she never asked for the extra meat but was told to pay the higher price anyway.

The vendor later said in media interviews that the accusations were unfair, while the YouTuber rebutted the explanation point by point, fueling a dispute over what actually happened.

As the controversy grew, authorities began preparing countermeasures. Jongno District announced plans to introduce a “real-name system” for roughly 250 street stalls inside the market to restore order in commercial practices.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.