Gwangjang Market at Center of 'Price Gouging' Controversy Again Over Charging Foreigners for Bottled Water

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[The Financial News] Gwangjang Market in Seoul, which had previously faced backlash over allegations of price gouging, is once again under fire after signs emerged that bottled water was being sold to foreigners for a fee.
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\r\nAccording to JTBC's "Incident Chief," which aired on the 18th, a Myanmar-born woman identified as A, who has lived in Korea for 13 years, visited Gwangjang Market last week with a Russian friend and bought a 500mL bottle of unlabeled water for 2,000 won.
A stopped by a street stall and ordered dumplings, japchae and a bottle of soju before asking the vendor, "Do you have water?" The vendor replied that she would have to buy water, and when asked about the price, said, "2,000 won." The informant and her friend bought the water and pointed out, "This is the first time we've seen water being sold at a Korean restaurant."
The vendor responded, "That's because there are many foreigners here." When A laughed and said, "We're Korean too," the vendor added, "We sell it that way to Koreans too."
In an interview with "Incident Chief," A said, "I can understand selling water, but this was the first time I had experienced being charged separately for water at a restaurant or street stall, so honestly, I was a bit taken aback."
After seeing the video, online users lashed out with comments such as, "Next they'll charge for spoons and chopsticks," "Are the officials just sitting around?" and "That's not a merchant, that's a scammer." The fierce reaction appears to stem from the fact that Gwangjang Market has already been repeatedly criticized over price gouging.
Last November, a YouTuber with 1.6 million subscribers posted a video showing a dispute with a vendor at Gwangjang Market after ordering sundae priced at 8,000 won and being asked to pay 10,000 won. When the YouTuber asked why the amount was different, the vendor replied, "Because I mixed it with meat," while the YouTuber countered, "I never asked you to mix meat with the sundae."
The merchants' association later suspended the stall's business, but a month later another YouTuber uploaded a video comparing Gwangjang Market and Gyeongdong Market, reigniting controversy over prices and portions.
Meanwhile, Gwangjang Market is divided into two sections, "Gwangjang Market" and "Gwangjang Traditional Market," each with its own merchants' association. Gwangjang Market refers to the area extending from the market's west gate to the 3-story Gwangjang Corporation building, which was built in 1956. The area has more than 200 regular shops selling food, clothing, bedding and traditional crafts. Merchants in this section belong to the Gwangjang Market Merchants Association.
The Street Vendors Association is made up of merchants from about 250 stalls in Gwangjang Traditional Market, stretching from the food alley to the east gate. The stalls now at the center of the price gouging allegations are believed to be mainly located in Gwangjang Traditional Market.
Lee Tae-jun, president of the Gwangjang Market Merchants Association, told a media outlet, "We have been consistently conducting training and campaigns for merchants to improve issues such as price gouging, encouraging cash payments and hygiene problems," adding, "We also meet merchants individually to persuade them." He stressed, "It would be great if the issues raised could be reduced to zero, but that is not easy in practice. We will continue to make every effort."
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is also stepping up crackdowns on price gouging at Gwangjang Market. The city is reportedly conducting undercover patrols in commercial districts with heavy tourist traffic and intensifying enforcement of price labeling rules and unfair business practices. It is also operating the "Price Gouging Report QR Code" service, which allows tourists to report unfair charges on the spot if they experience them at restaurants, accommodations or other facilities.
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hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter