An Italian restaurant in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do has reportedly caused a storm by refusing to serve customers wearing military uniforms. The restaurant came under fire after a netizen posted a piece on a women’s portal site recounting how she and her boyfriend–a ROK soldier on leave–were turned away thanks to the boyfriend’s army uniform. In a telephone interview with Kuki News, an employee of the restaurant explained that "since the restaurant was an Italian pasta specialty shop, customers wearing military uniforms wouldn’t go with the establishment’s image, and because of this, customers wearing military uniforms were barred entry."
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18 Comments
Damn Italians!
If the uniform-wearers were from the USFK, the same netizens would be congratulating the restaurant.
“customers wearing military uniforms wouldn’t go with the establishment’s image” of what? Pizza with corn? Pasta with mayonnaise?
If the uniform-wearers were from the USFK, the same netizens would be congratulating the restaurant.
Yeah, fuckin’ A! Let’s bash these people over something that didn’t even happen! Yeah!
Nah, Snow, what’s really at work is that if this had happened with a USFK member and the establishment’s management had said it’s a blanket policy about people in uniform in general, someone in the echo chamber would have said, “What crap! They wouldn’t do this to a Korean in a military uniform!”
Wait a minute… I thought USFK personnel weren’t supposed to be out in uniform unless going from home to work or back again.
Military personnel being refused service while in uniform?
An incident like this demonstrates one thing very clearly: now is the time for the ROK military to pull out of South Korea.
Well, Kushibo, I won’t apologize for getting in a little dig at the Hanky’s crowd of fire-breathing attack netizens.
At the same time, I certainly don’t intend any kind of put down of the ROK army. I have a great deal of respect for military personnel. After all, they are protecting me and my family, just as the USFK are.
I think its pretty disrespectful of the restaurant to not serve someone who defends the country.
And as far as pulling out of the country is concerned, what’s up with Roh drawing down the number of troops? With tensions so high with the North (well, maybe nobody in the South’s government feels any tension) I just hope they are replacing the soldiers with armaments.
The restaurant should be boycotted–these men have a difficult enough time with mandatory service.
Restaurants such as this, which I can almost guarantee is similar to La Cigale Montmartre or La Tavola in Itaewon, are not for Soldiers. They are for Western expats who have an intrinsic need to feel sophisticated, as well as Koreans who seek to increase their sense of ch’emyon by basking in the presence of such expats.
Soldiers should just stick with Pizza Hut.
What’s the matter Mark, Santa put coal in your stocking? It’s okay there’s always Lotteria for you to sulk in.
Hey Mark,
There’s nothing like Itaewon in Jeonju, friend. Believe me, I live there (for now). There’s so little like what you’re talking about that I thought you might have missed the Jeonju reference.
These Italian restaurants in Jeonju — there are a few different ones, none any better than the others — cater almost exclusively to Koreans, especially to groups of young Korean women who like the ambiance. You know, big soft booths, soft music, pretty lights. (The kind of place I avoid because the quality of the food is usually poor in such establishments.)
It’s disgraceful to bar soldiers in uniform from any place, even if they’ve had trouble from young men previously in uniform. But in my book, these guys received a blessing in disguise: there’s not one good Italian-food place in Jeonju anyway.
Hey Marmot, a Belatedly Merry Christmas to you!
Mark: Restaurants such as this, which I can almost guarantee is similar to La Cigale Montmartre or La Tavola in Itaewon, are not for Soldiers. They are for Western expats who have an intrinsic need to feel sophisticated, as well as Koreans who seek to increase their sense of ch’emyon by basking in the presence of such expats.
Foreign names for foreign restaurants are pretty standard stateside. I don’t think foreigners go there for the ambience, as much as they do for a taste of home. Koreans might go for the ambience. Note also that despite what Koreans might think, ordinary Western food isn’t just pizza and burgers - going to some of these upscale places may be the only way for many Westerners to experience what is commonplace, and probably cheaper back home.
I have never had a problem going into a restaurant in a US Army uniform here in Northern Gyeongi-do. There might be a different policy in regards to this in Seoul but here if you want to go off post to eat lunch or dinner in uniform there is no issue.
Also I can remember another time I was part of a training exercise involving the ROK Army in a city in Chungcheong-namdo and we were allowed to go out and eat one night in the town wearing our uniforms and Korean restaurant owners were literally grabbing us and our ROK Army counterparts also in uniform, to try to get us to go into their restaurants.
So I would think that this exclusion of uniformed personnel from this restaurant in Jeonju is an isolated incident.
Restaurants such as this, which I can almost guarantee is similar to La Cigale Montmartre or La Tavola in Itaewon, are not for Soldiers. They are for Western expats who have an intrinsic need to feel sophisticated, as well as Koreans who seek to increase their sense of ch’emyon by basking in the presence of such expats.
Apparently you have learned only one word of Korean, ??, and use it any time you want to say something about Korea. I suggest you dig in a little deeper. As for La Tavola and La Cigale ? which by the way belong to the same French-Korean couple, along with the night club in the basement ? and places like Le Saint Ex ? which belongs to a French-Korean team of biz partners ? they cater to different types of clients, from non-Koreans who once in a while want to eat real pizza or real French food, to Koreans who nay come for diverse reasons, but are usually return customers, because the food there is usually damn good!. There’s nothing fucking sophisticated about a bowl of spaghetti carbonara or onion soup. It’s just different, and the right to be different is something that has grudgingly been admitted over the years in Korea, and has no-fucking-thing to do with friggin’ ??.
Dude…
Apparently you have learned only one word of Korean, ??, and use it any time you want to say something about Korea.
I’m guessing Mark also knows a variety of ways to say “whore” in Korean.
La Tavola, La Cigale and Le Saint Ex are about the only reasons to go to Itaewon–they do an impressive job of serving European food in a town that didn’t have jack (outside of pricey hotel restaurants) even five years ago.
Expatriates, unite! Drive this ignorant rural whoremonger from our ranks so that we may live in cosmopolitan bliss, self-confident that we are the apple of Korea’s eye!
The prosecution rests.
Mark, are you a Quaker or something? A lot of people in Korea are glad that Mickey D’s and Popeyes are not the only choices for “foreign” food.
Your hyperbole is pretty funny though. But really, the prosecution needs to chill.
I love your title for this post by the way. Something about servicing men in uniform that makes me laugh on the inside.
Like it or not a business has the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason and taking Gord’s description of these restaurants as places that “cater almost exclusively to Koreans, especially to groups of young Korean women who like the ambiance. You know, big soft booths, soft music, pretty lights.” It most certainly does not seem like the kind of atmosphere where a military uniform would be acceptable. A dress uniform perhaps, but not your everyday old fatigues.
No doubt there are people who complain about having to wear shoes to the Super Walmart or about having to wear ties to fancy restaurants, but each establishment has the right to set a standard for what it thinks is acceptable.
I am going to have to disagree with Gord though. I like one of the Italian restaurants in Jeonju. TEAM, while not entirely authentic Italian food, is still quite good. I especially like the cake.