A video showing maggots crawling on a grill at a Korean-style barbecue restaurant in the Philippines has sparked hygiene controversies. In particular, the restaurant has been misunderstood as a Korean restaurant among foreign internet users, leading to the spread of the controversy.
In May, a TikTok account posted a 7-second video featuring scenes of meat being grilled with the message "Beware." The video captured the sight of maggots wriggling and crawling out from beneath the grill.
The shooter added nothing but the hashtag "#samgyeopsal," and some overseas users confused it for a Korean restaurant. Comments included reactions like, "I need to be careful with food when I travel to Korea."
The video has since become a topic of interest on domestic online communities and social media. As of the 12th, the view count surpassed 26 million. Domestic internet users speculated that the meat cuts on the grill are not typically known as "samgyeopsal" in Korea and highlighted that there were sauces rarely seen in Korea, leading them to conclude that it was not a domestic restaurant.
Later, a domestic internet user contacted the video shooter directly and shared the response, clearing up the misunderstanding. The shooter stated, "The restaurant in question is a specialty samgyeopsal place in the Philippines, and the video was filmed in the Philippines."
Media outlets overseas, including those in Thailand, reported that "the restaurant in the video is a Korean-style barbecue restaurant located in the Philippines."