“I asked for 10 million won for uploading the internet”…Black consumers who experienced Lee Yeon-bok and Hong Seok-cheon

Chef Lee Yeon-bok, a master of Chinese cuisine, and Hong Seok-cheon, the owner of Itaewon, talked about the ‘black consumer’ (customers who complained maliciously) and revealed the difficulties of the restaurant business.

Lee Yeon-bok and Hong Seok-cheon appeared on KBS1’s ‘Morning Madang’, which was broadcast on the 5th, and talked about the difficulties of running a restaurant.

Hong Seok-cheon talked about his experiences as a well-known president. He said, “I’m a black consumer, but there were times when I came to a restaurant and asked for money, saying that I didn’t like something. In fact, it happened often.”

He said, “It was a shock at first,” he said. However, there were some who demanded more than 10 million won. They put it on the internet,” he said.

Chef Lee Yeon-bok, who runs a famous Chinese restaurant, sympathized by introducing an absurd case he experienced, saying, “There was a case in our restaurant that they broke their teeth while eating Menbosha.” Menbosha, which is also a popular menu item at this chef’s restaurant, is a deep-fried dish of mashed shrimp between slices of bread. There are no ingredients hard enough to break a tooth.

Hong Seok-cheon, who heard this, said, “There was a time when my hair came out.

There was no end to the difficulties faced by the restaurant business dealing with customers. Hong Seok-cheon said, “I’ve been running the store for about 20 years, and I’ve met a lot of different customers. To be honest, it was difficult because there were so many customers who were very stubborn. It’s also true that we keep fighting with customers (who are telling the truth), and because of those people, even the customers around us have a hard time,” he said.

Hong Seok-cheon, who has been running a restaurant for about 20 years, was praised for saving the Itaewon commercial district with special affection and effort, such as successfully opening a Thai restaurant at a time when Thai food was unfamiliar in Korea. However, all restaurants have been closed due to financial difficulties after the COVID-19 pandemic that struck in early 2020.

Hong Seok-cheon said, “When I run a Thai restaurant, there is a spice that goes into a dish called Œc yanggong. He also made a fuss over that he gave some flying Thai rice. He said something unconditionally without knowing it.” He recalled, “I brought a really famous chef from Thailand, but I heard all the swear words.”

He also confessed to the difficulties of writing staff. Chef Lee Yeon-bok said, “There were employees who used me. When there is no one in the store (to work), he goes out to open a restaurant and calls me (me) a teacher. There were a lot of people who didn’t care,” he said. “When it’s hard, it hurts more. It was a bit silly,” he said frankly.

The economy has also been hit by the corona virus. Lee Yeon-bok said, “Originally, we operated two locations in Seoul and Busan, but last year, Seoul suffered a loss of about 120 million won. There was a limit on the number of people during the corona virus, so no matter how full it was, sales did not go up. There were originally 23 employees, but the number has been reduced to 12. As the work was difficult, other employees also quit, so I ended up giving up.”

Hong Seok-cheon said, “I ended up organizing all 7 or 8 restaurants in Itaewon.

Nevertheless, I love Itaewon so much that I am preparing to reopen it, but it is not easy.” “When I told Chef Lee Yeon-bok, ‘I’m going to start over,’ he repeatedly advised me to think carefully. That’s why it’s really hard for people in the restaurant business.”

Comedian Kim Hak-rae, who runs a Chinese restaurant with his wife Lim Mi-sook, also said, “No one said to come no matter how much money I paid. Labor cost is also labor cost, but manpower shortage is severe.

Netizens sent support such as “It’s true that no one does business”, “Two of you, cheer up. Hong Seok-cheon, cheer for the Itaewon store”, “There are many strange restaurants, but there seem to be many genuine customers”, and “Report black consumers”.

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