There are 16 restaurants in Seoul with signs like 'Drug○○' and 'Opium○○.' Although the revised Food Labeling and Advertising Act from July last year prohibits such signs, it is not mandatory.
Accordingly, the Seoul city government decided to support up to 2.7 million won in expenses for each restaurant to help replace the signs, considering the impact on youth. However, some raise the counterargument, "If a sign says 'Drug Gimbap,' no one would actually think drugs are an ingredient, so should we really provide expense support for sign replacement?"
◇Local governments trying to remove drug signs using funds
The Seoul city government announced on the 26th that it has sent a document encouraging expense support for sign replacement to ten autonomous districts where restaurants that use drug-related terms are located. This action is in response to the Seoul City Council's approval of an amendment to the local government ordinance that includes specific criteria for expense support on April 30th.
The amended ordinance states that if a restaurant replaces drug-related terms on its signs or menus, it can receive up to 2.7 million won in support. Local governments may support up to 2 million won for sign replacement per restaurant, 500,000 won for menu changes, and 200,000 won for product packaging. The revised Food Labeling and Advertising Act last year only stated that expense support could be provided without specifying the exact support amounts.
The support funds will be utilized from the Food Promotion Fund. The Food Promotion Fund is composed of penalty surcharges collected from violations of food hygiene laws and contributions from food hygiene organizations. Because separate budgets do not need to be allocated, it's said that local governments will bear less burden.
The reason Seoul is supporting expenses for restaurants to replace drug-related terms is due to concerns about negative impacts on youth. In response to the question of whether the commercial use of drug-related terminology, such as "Drug Gimbap" or "Drug Coffee," makes drugs feel familiar, a survey found that 48.6% of youth responded that it indeed makes them feel "familiar." The Seoul City Council noted in its report on the amendment that "most food service establishments using drug-related terms such as 'Drug Tteokbokki' and 'Drug Gimbap' operate near elementary, middle, and high schools."
Prior to Seoul, Anyang city in Gyeonggi Province also began a program to support the replacement of signage for restaurants that use drug-related terminology.
Gyeonggi Province, where Seoul and Anyang are located, is among the areas in the country with a high number of drug offenders detected. Last year, a total of 23,022 drug offenders were caught domestically, with Gyeonggi Province having the highest number at 5,871. Seoul followed with 5,623. Four out of ten drug offenders caught are from Seoul and Gyeonggi.
◇"Who thinks drug gimbap ingredients are actually drugs?"
On the other hand, there are opinions that replacing signs or menus when it is known that they do not contain drugs is an excessive measure. The argument is whether anyone would really think that the word 'Drug' on a sign indicates that actual drugs are ingredients in the food. An operator of a restaurant in the metropolitan area said, "Attaching the term drug to dishes like soup or jjambbong is rather symbolic, isn't it?"
A local government official also noted, "If a restaurant owner argues that they had no intention of implying drugs, then there is not much that can be said. For instance, a restaurant using poppy in its name might claim it is used in the sense of 'beautiful.'"
This has led to discussions that the government and local governments are depicting restaurant owners as drug offenders due to the revisions in relevant laws and ordinances.
Among self-employed individuals, some are questioning, "Are we really being asked to surrender years of brand recognition for 2.7 million won?" Those running delivery-focused restaurants worry that changing the name could lead to a drop in sales. They also point out that 2.7 million won is insufficient to cover all the expenses for replacing names and menus.
It is also said that the fact that most restaurants using drug-related terminology operate as chains acts as an obstacle to name changes. A local government official mentioned, "When we go out into the field, most restaurants using drug-related terms are franchisees. There are voices saying it's practically difficult to change the name without corporate support." As of the 26th, there are a total of 16 restaurants in Seoul eligible for sign replacement support, of which 12 are franchises.