Singer Sung Si Kyung felt the worsening economy firsthand while hosting "Meokultende".
On the 17th, Sung Si Kyung's YouTube channel uploaded the Garak Market episode of "Sung Si Kyung's Meokultende." That day Sung Si Kyung introduced a popular restaurant at the Garak-dong seafood market.
Sung Si Kyung said, "I think I came to Garak-dong seafood market once in my 20s and this feels like the first time coming again. But why did I come here. This time I had a concert near Olympic Park, right? Back then I ordered delivery four times. After a concert at night you want to eat something, but you have something the next day too, so you have to eat something. The food I've been into most recently, my absolute favorite, is white-fleshed fish dipped in salt. I wanted to talk about that, and the sashimi was really satisfyingly delicious. It's not only that I'm introducing this place, but I thought it would be good to show that there is such a pretty, quaint sashimi center here," he explained.
Afterwards Sung Si Kyung walked around the inside of the sashimi center and filmed it. He recommended, "To me everything looks delicious. The seafood market. It's so small here. So even if this place isn't one featured on 'Meokultende,' they probably all sell very fresh fish at reasonable prices."
He continued, "I think the places I go to might have done a bit of promotion. I saw reels or shorts before and thought I should go sometime, so I knew about it," and headed to the restaurant he planned to introduce. After taking a seat, Sung Si Kyung placed his order and began eating, repeatedly expressing his satisfaction with the taste.
After finishing his meal, Sung Si Kyung confessed, "What's a little surprising is that because it's really a recession, the people running businesses nearby... For places that do well on 'Meokultende,' they often refuse a lot, right? But lately there are many places that are grateful when we do come. That makes me a little sad."
As recently as 2023, Sung Si Kyung had revealed that even though 'Meokultende' is popular, he faced difficulties arranging shoots, saying, "The restaurants I want to introduce are already popular. Even asking for permission to film with my own money isn't easy." But he said the atmosphere has completely changed in recent years because of the recession, expressing bitterness.
Sung Si Kyung said, "Restaurants related to 'Culinary Class Wars' that do well. The places that are doing well are even more packed. Isn't it good for the second- and third-place spots to do well? But I think it's really hard for many of them," and reiterated, "I think I came here with a happy heart because I thought it would be great to introduce this place. It's not just that this place is delicious. They probably all do well. It's nice to have places like this and for them to build regular customers. It's like me saying all the Chinese restaurants in front of the Chinese embassy are delicious. I hope people find restaurants that suit their tastes, and personally I really liked it. The sashimi here — after coming and trying it, there wasn't a single side dish left," he emphasized again.
[Photo] Sung Si Kyung YouTube
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