With the box-office success of the film "The King's Warden," tourists visiting Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol County, Gangwon—where the movie is set—have surged fivefold from a year earlier, and the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said it will strengthen hygiene management at restaurants in nearby tourist spots including Cheongnyeongpo. Cheongnyeongpo is the place of exile of Danjong, the sixth king of Joseon, and a representative tourist destination of Yeongwol County.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said on the 3rd that, together with the Yeongwol County Office, it will carry out preemptive hygiene management for about 100 restaurants around the county's major tourist attractions. The inspection period will be from the 4th to the 13th, and it will also push to designate food safety zones.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety will evaluate restaurant hygiene levels, designate establishments with excellent hygiene as food safety restaurants, and set areas where such restaurants account for 60% or more in clusters of eateries as food safety zones. This is to ensure that restaurants in the Yeongwol area provide hygienic food amid the increase in visitors to Cheongnyeongpo and to prevent consumer damage from price gouging.
Key inspection items include: ▲ hygienic handling of food and kitchens ▲ whether foods past their use-by date are stored or used ▲ whether health checkups have been conducted. In particular, considering the surge in visitors, authorities will focus on compliance with food poisoning prevention rules and price display requirements. In addition, the area around Gwanpungheon, a spot favored by tourists, will be designated as a food safety zone.