An incident in which a group of YouTubers suffered from overpricing after eating a set meal at a restaurant in Ulleung-gun, Gyeongbuk, is being brought back to light.
YouTuber "Tookkabi" posted a video titled "Is this a 72,000 won meal on Ulleungdo?" in August of last year. The YouTuber entered a restaurant he claimed to have been to once before and ordered six servings of a set meal priced at 12,000 won per person. When asked about the set menu, the restaurant owner replied, "There is no menu; only side dishes and seaweed are served."
The side dishes served by the restaurant included fish cake, kimchi, quail eggs, stir-fried anchovies, seasoned seaweed, vegetables, stir-fried mushrooms, and squid entrails. The group paid a total of 72,000 won for the set meal. When they asked, "Is this the end of the side dishes?" the restaurant owner explained, "This is Ulleungdo," adding, "We are the place that serves the most side dishes. At other places, they only give five." This made the group chuckle, replying, "Oh, it's Ulleungdo, right?"
The YouTuber said, "I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. Side dishes are served like this everywhere you go," and noted, "The side dishes are served in small portions for three people to share, did you know we wouldn't eat much anyway?" After finishing the meal and calculating the bill, the YouTuber remarked, "I really dislike the assumption that it's natural every time I come to Ulleungdo. 'It's expensive because it's an island,' 'Ulleungdo is different,' and 'Ulleungdo's water makes it tastier' – I really dislike this attitude."
The YouTuber further added that the price of the restaurant's stir-fried seafood dish has also increased, saying, "It was 14,000 won then, but now it's 20,000 won." Finally, the YouTuber advised his subscribers, "Everyone, don't eat near the port when you come to Ulleungdo. Just going to the noodle shop introduced to us by the grandmother at our inn yesterday was so much more welcoming," expressing his bittersweet feelings. Netizens reacted to the video, commenting, "The owner promoting not to come to Ulleungdo," "Is it normal to pay 12,000 won without a main side dish or stew?", and "I learned to buy a lunchbox before getting on the boat when going to Ulleungdo."