"Well, It's for Koreans Anyway"... Laughing While Boiling a Week-Old Fish

Person in Video Says, "Staff Never Eat It"

Employee Suspected in Video Apologizes, Says, "It Was Not Actually Spoiled"

A video showing a fish that appears to be spoiled being cooked into spicy fish stew and served to customers at a restaurant in Korea has been released, causing controversy.

On October 4, a video allegedly filmed in the kitchen of a restaurant in Korea began spreading across online communities and social media. In the video, a woman wearing an apron is seen stirring a pot containing fish and cooking spicy fish stew.

The person recording the video introduces the food and points to the fish inside the pot, saying, "This fish has been dead for several days. I think it's been about a week." They go on to add, "There's a green slime on the fish, but after boiling it, it can still be served to customers," implying that the fish would be served regardless of its condition.

They continue by saying, "This is for customers to eat. Our restaurant staff do not eat it," and then mimic customers enjoying the dish, saying things like "It's delicious," and laughing. At the end of the video, the woman in the kitchen, at the request of the person filming, smiles and makes a V sign with her fingers.

A video showing a fish that appears to be spoiled being cooked into spicy fish stew and served to customers at a restaurant in Korea has been released, causing controversy. Screenshot from social media.

As the video rapidly spread across social media and online communities, concerns and criticism about food hygiene quickly mounted. In particular, many voiced the need to confirm whether the fish was actually served to customers and to identify which restaurant the video was filmed in.

As the controversy escalated, a Vietnamese employee, believed to be one of the people in the video, posted an apology on social media. The employee explained, "I only intended to make the video as a harmless joke and didn't think it would spread like this," and insisted, "Like I said in the video, the fish was not actually spoiled, nor was there any other problem."

They went on to say, "I hope there won't be any concerns caused by the comments I made in the video," and added, "I will make sure that nothing like this happens again. I apologize." It was later reported that both the social media account and the apology post had been deleted.

In response to the controversy, online users have continued to call for authorities to investigate the location of the restaurant and whether the dish was actually served.

The controversy has even spread to Vietnam. Some Vietnamese netizens defended the video, saying, "Of course, the fish is dead. After being caught, it often takes one to two weeks to bring it ashore. Except for dishes like sashimi eaten raw in Korea, all fish dishes are made from dead fish."

On the other hand, there were also comments saying, "We shouldn't blindly defend someone just because they're Vietnamese. Mocking customers was wrong," and "Such behavior harms the restaurant's reputation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.