Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul is quiet on June 20, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 23 (Korea Bizwire) — With Japan’s imminent discharge of radioactive water from crippled nuclear reactors in Fukushima, South Korean seafood businesses, including raw fish restaurants, are struggling to survive.
“Even before the water is released, our sales have already declined by 15 percent compared to last month,” said a restaurant owner surnamed Kim at Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul.
“If the water is actually dumped into the sea, I can’t imagine the consequences.”
“I spend 13 million won (US$10,000) per month on rent and management fees alone,” another restaurant owner said.
“To break even, I need to generate daily sales of about 2 million won, but recently our daily sales are less than 0.5 million won.”
The situation is similar for other raw fish and sushi restaurants in downtown Seoul.
Restaurant booking applications are offering many discounted sushi omakase events, typically around 10 percent off.
Some restaurants have reduced the price of their dinner course from 100,000 won to 59,000 won.
“The current situation is worse than during the pandemic,” said Son Jun-myung, a 60-year-old owner of a tuna restaurant at Noryangjin fish market.
“During the pandemic, many consumers placed delivery orders. However, today consumers feel uneasy about consuming fish itself.”
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
