2nd September 2017
By Bak Yeonggwan
Seven primary school pupils and their children were taken ill with gastroenteritis in in North Jeolla province’s Jeonju after eating at McDonald’s. As a result of an investigation by the Health Department McDonald’s has now suspended bulgogi burgers from its menu.
Jeonju has a single McDonald’s. On the 25th of August a group of eight made up of seven primary school students and their teacher complained of stomache, diarrhea and high fever which developed into gastroenteritis. All eight of the people had eaten McDonald’s bulgogi burgers.
The father of one of the affected pupils said: “after he ate at McDonald’s he was ill for nearly 4 days and wasn’t able to eat.” This is not the first time the bulgogi burger has been caught up in such a controversy. In July a four-year-old child caught the so-called “hamburger illness”, also known as hemolytic uremic syndrome. Their family sued McDonald’s. In addition, the Korean Consumer Agency reported that it had detected more than three times the normal amount of staphylococcus aureus bacteria in a bulgogi burger which it tested at the beginning of last month. McDonald’s has now stopped selling bulgogi burgers at all of its locations throughout the country.
Jang Goun, McDonald’s Public Relations Team Leader, said: “We have decided to discontinue sales of the product until the investigation results show [they are safe]. It is a preemptive measure for customer safety.”
Analysis: One might wonder why a case of food poisoning is front-page news, but for whatever reason gastroenteritis holds a very prominent place in the Korean cultural psyche. The McDonald’s bulgogi burger is based on Korean bulgogi (“fire meat”) and is marinated in a very tasty, slightly sweet barbeque sauce. It doesn’t necessarily mesh that well with cheese but is certainly one of the better localised McDonald’s offerings I’ve come across. Of course, whether its reputation has now been irreperably damaged in its homeland remains to be seen. Certainly some Koreans don’t feel very well-disposed towards American businesses; this story may reinforce some of their resentmen. There’s also a strong tradition of seniors taking juniors for meals which includes teachers taking students out for meals in a way which is completely absent from the UK.