Restaurants in South Korea are doing better business because of protests

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Binge
December 08, 2016
Places have started to produce extra food and remain open after regular hours.

Recent protests against President Geun-hye Park have aided the businesses of many restaurants and bars in the Gwanghwamun Square area in Seoul. The protests broke out after President Park was caught in a scandal, accused of letting Soon-sil Choi—who isn’t a government official—view official documents and presidential speeches.

Most Gwanghwamun Square restaurants that shut by midnight on weekdays and remain closed on weekends have recently served customers until the wee hours of the morning, even on a Sunday. Some have also begun to prepare three to four times more food than normal.

The protests have been taking place for the past six weekends. In comparison to past protests, these have been peaceful and also somewhat festive. Parents bring along children, and actors and singers perform. Smaller alleyways even see street vendors selling food to the protesters.

Binge verdict: Although these restaurants are experiencing an influx of customers at at the moment, it’s likely that their businesses will take a slight hit after the protests end.