Shocking Discovery: Kitchen Sink Cover Found in Korean Restaurant’s Doenjang Jjigae!

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Another DM landed in our inbox today — let’s dive into the first one. ▶ Sink drain cover served in soybean paste stew? “If you get sick, bill us for the medical fees.” A tipster says they found an outrageous object in a restaurant’s doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), and the story has ignited public outrage. The offending item? A sink drain cover. Even worse: the owner’s unapologetic, defensive reaction. Here’s a photo from the restaurant in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province. In the earthenware pot sits a round metal object — a drain cover. The tipster had ordered a variety of dishes, including a salted mackerel set, and discovered not only the drain cover in the stew but also a steel-wool scrubber in the mackerel served with the set. When they complained about the shocking hygiene, the owner didn’t apologize. Instead, they reportedly said, “Don’t pay — just leave,” and “If you get stomach pains, you can bill us for your hospital fees.” After repeated complaints, the restaurant put up an “All seats reserved” sign and refused customers, then reportedly resumed normal service after the tipster’s group left. Netizens reacted with comments such as “They shouldn’t be running a restaurant” and demanded that Mungyeong City carry out a hygiene inspection. ▶ A blonde foreigner crowned Chunhyang? The “Miss” title draws attention. Now for DM number two. Every May, the Chunhyang beauty contest — one of Korea’s most traditional pageants — crowns winners, and this year a blonde foreigner snagged a title, turning heads. Among the six Chunhyang winners this year, one stood out: Lina, a Ukrainian graduate student at Kyungpook National University, who took home a “Miss” award. This isn’t the first time a foreigner has been chosen. Last year, Estonian YouTuber Mai made headlines as the first foreign Chunhyang in 95 years. Namwon City began allowing foreign contestants in 2024 to modernize and globalize the pageant. Some praise the move as fitting for a global era; others worry it could dilute the contest’s identity. The debate over tradition versus diversity continues. Lina said she’s honored to be chosen in a competition with deep history and tradition and is grateful that the judges recognized her intrinsic beauty rather than her background. Whoever is selected, the contest should celebrate ambassadors who can share Korea’s beauty with the world — beyond the tradition-versus-diversity debate, that principle matters most. ▶ “My grandchild insists I buy this” — grandparents hunting for rare Pokémon cards. Shall we open the last DM? May is Family Month, capped off by Children’s Day, and many people are scrambling to find the perfect gift for kids, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren. Today’s final DM highlights a clear generational gap in how people choose Children’s Day presents. A platform analyzed gift-picking behavior and found a split between parents in their 30s–40s and grandparents in their 50s–60s. Parents in their 30s–40s often pick gifts based on their own tastes — practical items or characters they loved growing up — and sometimes seem more excited about the selection process than the kids themselves. Grandparents, however, choose with their grandchildren’s preferences front and center. They’re willing to splurge on big-ticket items like bikes and on rare collectibles their grandkids want. No surprise, then, that searches for rare Pokémon cards — wildly popular among kids — jumped more than 64 times compared with the previous week. That surge likely reflects grandparents’ eagerness to give kids what they ask for. Our response to today’s DMs: May doesn’t only include Children’s Day; it also includes Parents’ Day, so gift-giving is top of mind for many. Worrying over the perfect present means there’s a lot of love wrapped up in the gesture. Pass on that warm feeling, and enjoy a happy Family Month. That’s the DM roundup for today. Yonhap News TV story tips and inquiries: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23, Jin Ki‑hoon (jinkh@yna.co.kr)