Restaurant In South Korea Sparks Debate With Controversial Sign

A restaurant in South Korea recently became a hot topic online for its unexpected customer policy.

Over the past few months, public eateries in South Korea have attracted criticism from netizens on multiple occasions for implementing policies that didn’t sit well with the public. Earlier this year, the country saw heated debates over public places banning children from entering their establishments. Another café went to the other extreme, prohibiting people over 60 from entering while allowing dogs and other pets to enter.

In August, the Korean public was enraged over the growing trend of eateries asking customers for “tips” or service gratuities like in the United States.

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Now, another establishment has come under fire for a similar reason. An online community user posted a photo of a sign inside a restaurant asking customers to clean their tables after they are done.

The sign was placed on a white, distinct-looking box beside the trashcan and asked people to “clean up with good manners for the next guest.”

This contains a table-cleaning wet wipe. Please clean up with good manners for the next guest. The next guest will be seated in the place where you were sitting. May the place where you stayed also stay beautiful.

— The full text on the sign

The post quickly garnered attention from other users who were unhappy about this policy. Many felt it was unfair for the restaurant to expect customers to do this labor. Others also pointed out that this policy would make sense for self-service eateries but not for full-fledged restaurants that are supposed to employ people for such services.

Here are some of the comments expressing netizens’ opinions on this:

• “These are the plates the next customers will use. Please wash them after you eat.”
• “Is this an unmanned restaurant? LOL. This is seriously dumb.”
• “May the place where you stayed also stay beautiful? That freaking ridiculous.”
• “No matter what, this isn’t acceptable.”
• “So, how much does the food cost?”