Baek Jong-won's business was suspended and he was kicked out of the night market due to racially discriminatory malicious complaints.
In the second episode of tvN's entertainment show 'Business Genius Baeksang', which aired on the 9th, Baek Jong-won was seen trying his hand at the restaurant business at a night market in Morocco, Africa, a wasteland of Korean food.
Baek Jong-won, who started his first business that day, received a positive response from locals with his bulgogi burger and rib soup. The tables were full with customers pouring in. However, a problem rose just one hour after business began. The electricity at the street corner was suddenly cut off.
The male part-timer announced, “I can't do business anymore. They say there’s a problem and I don’t know why.” The market even blocked the front of the stalls with lines to prevent new customers from entering the stalls. Baek Jong-won showed a resolute attitude, saying, "I felt very bad when I had to close my business due to someone else's will. I was very angry, but I managed my facial expression. That was the only thing I could do. I thought this wasn't right. Even if I left, I didn't want to look ridiculous like this." The reason was stated.
I thought it was territorial, but the whole story that was revealed was even more surprising. Morocco is an Islamic country where only halal food permitted by Islamic law can be eaten, and Baek Jong-won and his employees made and sold 100% halal food using only halal meat purchased directly and products from local markets. However, some customers who did not trust unfamiliar food from non-Muslim Asians filed complaints at the market with suspicions such as “I heard these people eat frogs” and “Is it pork?” The night market stopped Baek Jong-won's business, believing that complaints could continue to be filed.
In response, Baek Jong-won said, "I wanted to go to Korea," but wanted to continue the challenge, saying, "I like to see the end in the end, even if an accident happens and it's really ridiculous." After being rejected by 12 stores, the production team succeeded in renting a store to replace the night market. However, there was still a task left for Baek Jong-won. At the night market, all food was sold for 40 dirham, but prices around the shops here were significantly lower than at the night market.
In the end, Baek Jong-won invited a family into the store and held a 'quiz show'. Since it is difficult to set a price, the intention was to let customers set the price themselves. The customers guessed at the offer of free food if they guessed the price, and soon the price of the bulgogi burger was set at 20 dirham.
On this day, a situation occurred where Labab, a female part-time worker, did not show up for work. The production crew said, “I thought Labab was fired because he thought the store was going out of business,” and that the part-timer was on his way to work after finding out about the store relocation later. However, when business began without Labab, Baek Jong-won, Lee Jang-woo, and BamBam were having trouble communicating, and the empty store was depicted, foreshadowing never-ending suffering.
Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr