Gwangju Bar Lists “Blood Tteokgalbi” on Menu... Outrage Grows Despite Owner’s Apology: “I Didn’t Know It Was an Ilbe Term”

[Financial News] A newly opened bar in Gwangju has drawn fierce outrage for using as a menu item a far-right hate expression that mocks and demeans victims of the May 18 Democratization Movement. The owner apologized, saying, “I had no idea what it meant,” and removed the item, but the controversy has been slow to die down.

On the 5th, a photo of the menu at a bar that recently opened in Dongmyeong-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, was shared on the social media platform Threads and online communities.
The menu listed an item called “Blood Tteokgalbi” with the description, “We serve three pieces of tteokgalbi, grilled until golden brown, with ketchup.” It was priced at 12,000 won. The bar also promoted the item on its official social media account, emphasizing the word “blood tteok” and even using a related hip-hop track as background music.
The problem is that “Blood Tteokgalbi” is a notorious expression of deeply offensive, hateful language used in far-right online communities such as Ilbe Storehouse to mock victims who bled to death amid violence by martial-law troops during May 18, likening them to tteokgalbi, a signature Gwangju dish.
Citizens and online users who saw the post could not hide their anger. Online users poured out sharp criticism, saying, “It’s unbelievable that such an inhumane expression would be used as a menu item in the heart of Gwangju, a city symbolic of the pro-democracy movement,” and “There isn’t even a red ingredient such as congealed blood in it; they’re just serving it with ketchup. It’s suspicious that they deliberately chose the hateful term ‘blood tteok.’”

As criticism poured in, the owner, identified as A, posted an official apology on social media and immediately withdrew the menu item. A said, “Dongmyeong-dong is a commercial district popular with people in their 20s, and I only wanted to spark curiosity by describing the same food differently. I thought it was a newly coined word with no meaning,” adding, “I had absolutely no intention of making a political or social slight.”
A added, “Only after a customer pointed it out and I looked it up did I realize it was a controversial term.” A bowed in apology, saying, “I deeply regret causing hurt through ignorance and carelessness. I will not take this lightly and will learn.”
In the process, the bar’s employees suffered secondary harm when their personal information was spread online, prompting the owner to appeal for restraint. Some also asked, “It was wrong not to know, but isn’t this an excessive witch hunt against a self-employed business owner who has apologized?” Still, the outrage continues.
The May 18 Memorial Foundation has received reports about the incident and begun looking into what happened.
Park Kang-bae, executive director of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, stressed, “Insensitivity that fails to consider history and other people’s pain inflicts another deep wound on someone. The explanation ‘I didn’t know’ cannot serve as an excuse. This should be an opportunity to reflect on what was overlooked and ensure that such hateful expressions do not recur across society.”
[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter