A stall at Gwangjang Market that sparked controversy by selling a bottle of water to a customer for 2,000 won was suspended for three days.
According to the Gwangjang Market stall merchants' association on the 24th, the stall was disciplined by the association and had its business suspended for three days from the 22nd through that day.
Earlier, a Myanmar-born YouTuber living in Korea, "Kying," posted a video on the 16th of visiting Gwangjang Market with a Russian friend.
In the video, they stopped by a stall and ordered dumplings, japchae, and a bottle of soju. When Kying asked, "Do we also drink soju in paper cups?" the vendor said, "Here, yes." When Kying asked, "Do you have water?" the vendor handed over a 500 ml bottle of water and said, "2,000 won," asking separately for the price of the water. Kying said, "This is my first time seeing water sold at a Korean (restaurant)," and the vendor replied, "There are a lot of foreigners (at Gwangjang Market), so that's why."
The merchants' association explained that some stalls bought 1.8 L bottles of water and served it in cups, and there were cases where foreigners misunderstood it as water left over by others.