“₩800,000 to watch the fireworks?” ... Menu controversy at a Busan Gwangalli Beach restaurant

[Financial News] It has emerged that a restaurant overlooking Gwangan Bridge sold a special menu for 800,000 won per table on the day of the Busan Fireworks Festival. Opinions were divided over whether the price was reasonable, given that diners could watch the fireworks from their seats.
A video showing the special menu offered by a Gwangalli Beach restaurant for the 21st Busan Fireworks Festival, along with footage of the restaurant, was shared online on the 8th. The festival, held the previous day, drew 1.2 million visitors.
The menu shown in the video was labeled “Fireworks Festival prices,” and listed Course A at 800,000 won per table.
The 800,000-won Course A consisted of four dishes—assorted samhap, beef-and-shrimp jeon, stir-fried octopus with somyeon noodles, and gamtae rolls with pollock roe mayonnaise—and one bottle of wine.
A separate Course B was priced at 150,000 won per person, with reservations available for parties of at least two.
The restaurant was located where diners could enjoy a broad view of Gwangan Bridge through the windows. Several window seats inside were also available for watching the fireworks.
Since the menu separately listed festival prices, the amount is presumed to have been a special rate applied during the event.
Some online users said they understood the price because diners could comfortably enjoy the fireworks. “It feels like you’re paying for the view more than the food,” they said, calling it “a luxury worth enjoying at least once on a special day.”
Others, however, criticized the 800,000-won-per-table price as excessively high. Some online users questioned the pricing, saying, “Even if it’s the best spot, 800,000 won is excessive,” and “Isn’t this a rip-off?”
During the festival, prices at accommodations around the event venue rose sharply from usual levels, as did those at restaurants.
A Busan city survey of rates at 157 lodging establishments within a 500-meter radius of the festival venue found that room rates on the day of the event averaged 94.5% higher than on a typical weekend.
Of the lodging establishments surveyed, 15 were found to have raised their rates by 200% or more compared with usual.
[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter