“Wow, it’s Kanjajang today! And even Kkanpunggi… this is a total upgrade.”
Min-jae swallowed hard as he tore open the delivery bags.
Father smiled warmly and handed out the chopsticks.
“Sales have been picking up lately. Let’s treat ourselves a little today.”
The three of them sat around a temporary table and began mixing the Kanjajang.
“The online business is doing really well,” Min-jae said, munching on a piece of Kkanpunggi. “Oh, this is totally crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. But Brother, eating Chinese food suddenly made me wonder about something.”
“What is it?”
“When you go to the mart, it’s full of Chinese products. Garlic, onions, peppers… even the kimchi is from China. Not to mention the manufactured goods.”
Min-jae hurriedly stuffed another piece of Kkanpunggi into his mouth as he continued his questions.
‘Is he trying to stop me from eating?’ I wondered, feeling a bit suspicious.
“But I’ve seen meat from Chile, Brazil, and Australia, but I’ve never seen any from China. Isn’t that weird? Do Chinese people eat so much pork that they don’t have any left to export?”
“Huh? Is that so?”
It was a plausible question now that I thought about it.
“Actually, I believe China is the world’s largest producer of pork.”
“Oh, really?” Min-jae asked.
Still, it seemed Father might know the answer.
“Father, why isn’t Chinese meat in our markets?”
“Why else? It’s because the import itself is banned.”
Min-jae pouted and tilted his head. “Banned? Completely? But they don’t ban other things.”
“Fresh meat, chilled meat, and frozen meat are all banned. Most heat-treated processed products are banned, too.”
There had to be a special reason if they banned only meat while other items were allowed.
“Why? Is it because of Foot and Mouth Disease?”
“That’s the official reason. China has constant outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease and African Swine Fever. But…” Father lowered his voice. “The real reason is something else.”
“The real reason?”
“Our government knows exactly how messy the Chinese livestock industry is.”
Min-jae stopped eating the Kkanpunggi and listened intently.
“I heard this from a buyer who visited China before. They say China uses ten times the growth stimulants compared to our standards. One farm even used enough to ship pigs out in just three and a half months.”
“Can a pig even grow fully in three and a half months?”
“Exactly. To raise one normally, it takes at least half a year. On top of that, they use a banned drug called clenbuterol, which apparently makes a person’s heart race like crazy.”
It was absurd. No, saying it was absurd wasn’t enough.
“Why on earth would they use something like that?”
“Using it increases the amount of lean meat. There was an incident in China where hundreds of people were rushed to the emergency room after eating it. In the past, there were even cases where athletes went to China, ate that meat, and failed doping tests. Probably?”
“Oh, come on… Father, that’s impossible. How does it make sense to fail a doping test just from eating meat?”
“This kid, doubting his father’s words…”
“Our father has been watching too much fake news lately. Social media is the problem, a real problem.”
However, the look Father gave me didn’t seem ordinary. I quickly searched the internet before I could get scolded.
**[Clenbuterol Doping Chinese Meat]**
Search results flooded the screen. The first article was shocking.
**[2010 German Women’s National Handball Team, Doping Positive Due to Chinese Pork]**
I clicked on the article. After returning from a match in China, several players on the German women’s national handball team tested positive for clenbuterol during a doping test.
The investigation revealed that the cause was the pork they had eaten at a local restaurant before the match.
WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) personally conducted the investigation and officially recognized the possibility of clenbuterol contamination in Chinese meat.
“Whoa… No way…”
A groan that sounded like a scream escaped my lips. Father’s words were true. I scrolled down further.
**[2011 Major Scandal Breaks Again – Entire German Cycling Team Tests Positive for Doping]**
‘Does this even make sense?’
The twenty-first century, which I had believed to be an era of romance, suddenly felt barbaric. Was the twenty-second century where I lived a better world after all?
The German youth cycling team had returned after finishing training in Beijing, China, and all twenty athletes tested positive for clenbuterol.
The cause was the same—the meat they ate locally in China.
At the end of the article, there was even more shocking information.
**[The International Cycling Union (UCI) released an official recommendation. Athletes competing in China and Mexico should avoid consuming local meat.]**
An international sports organization had officially warned people not to eat meat from a specific country.
“Father, this… it’s real? Testing positive for doping because of meat… this is huge.”
Min-jae, who was also looking at my phone, gulped down some water.
“Wow, if it’s this bad, there must be even worse things going on.”
“That’s right. They even distribute pigs that died of disease. Millions of tons every year. And this is something even I was truly shocked to hear…” Father paused for a moment before continuing. “You know gutter oil? They supposedly make feed out of that. Have you heard of *digouyou*?”
“Huh? Gutter oil?! *Digouyou*?”
“It’s oil collected and refined from restaurant sewers. They use it to make cooking oil for humans and animal feed to give to pigs. If you look it up, you’ll find the details.”
At this point, I would believe Father even if he said he could make soybean paste stew out of dirt. Unable to contain my curiosity, I pulled out my phone again. I typed ‘Chinese gutter oil’ into the search bar.
The very first result was beyond shocking.
**[2010 Shocking Report from China: Half the Population is Consuming Gutter Oil]**
I began reading the article.
*Digouyou*. Translated literally, it means ‘gutter oil.’ It is oil residue scraped from restaurant sewers and drains. It even includes oil recovered from slaughterhouse waste and garbage piles. Once refined and chemically treated, it looks like perfectly normal cooking oil.
I scrolled down. The manufacturing process was detailed.
“Ugh…”
Min-jae frowned as he looked at the phone screen.
“As regulations tightened, the dealers sold it as a raw material for animal feed instead of cooking oil for humans.”
“Wow… that is completely insane…”
“That’s why even wealthy Chinese people don’t eat meat from their own country. They come to Korea to buy Hanwoo, import Japanese Wagyu, or eat clean Australian beef.”
“They don’t even trust the meat from their own country?”
“Was it 2008? Ever since the melamine milk powder scandal, Chinese people haven’t trusted their domestic food.”
“Whoa… Is that why Chinese tourists ate so much pork belly when they came to Korea?”
“Maybe? I’m not sure about that.”
Upon searching, the Korea Tourism Organization’s survey actually showed that pork belly was ranked as one of the favorite Korean foods among Chinese tourists.
Min-jae sighed. “Then every other country must be blocking imports too, right?”
“The US, Japan, and the EU have all banned it. Only Russia imports some, but Russia’s food safety standards are a mess, too.”
“But could it…” I asked anxiously, “Could it enter the country through other means?”
“It can come in as an ingredient for processed foods.”
“What? Wow… that’s another shock.”
“Things like dumpling fillings, sausages, and jerky. If it just says ‘imported,’ you should check it at least once. Especially processed goods made in Chinese factories.”
There were bound to be loopholes in everything.
Min-jae said worriedly, “Then, it might be officially imported one day…”
“It could. That’s why trustworthy shops and companies are important.”
We resumed our meal. Min-jae changed the subject and started talking about the online sales.
“The orders increased by 30% this week alone. Word of mouth is spreading in the mom cafes, too.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Someone posted a review in the Gayeong-dong Mom Cafe, and it got over 100 comments.”
I took a mouthful of Kanjajang. “I think the effect of the online boards is impacting offline sales as well.”
“For real?”
“Father said a young mother came by yesterday and bought pork belly, saying she saw it on the mom cafe. Right, Father?”
Father, who was about to put some Kkanpunggi in his mouth, boasted excitedly.
“That’s right. And former regulars from the market alley shops have started coming to our place.”
“Regulars from the market butcher shops?”
“People who have an eye for meat quality feel the difference immediately.”
“But the problem is that most customers are still going to Mega Meat.”
“Still, it’s much better than before. But you know…” Father said, his expression suddenly hardening. “Ever since customers started appearing at our shop, Mega Meat has been acting strange.”
“In what way?” Min-jae asked.
“Once a week, they’ve started doing flash sales every weekend.”
“By how much?”
“They were discounting pork belly all the way to 2,000 won. Only during the weekend.”
“They’re totally trying to keep us in check.”
“Is that so? Anyway, they did it once last month, but now it’s every week.” Father took a sip of water and continued. “And it’s from Friday evening until Sunday. Right when our customers would most likely come to shop during the weekend.”
“Then they are definitely conscious of us. I’ve seen posts online saying Mega Meat uses tactics like this.”
Feeling frustrated, Min-jae did something he usually didn’t do. He put his chopsticks down during the meal.
It was then.
“Huh? What are they doing over there?”
Min-jae pointed out the window. In front of the Mega Meat building, employees were installing a large banner under the sign.
“Why? What is it?”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“What do those bastards think they’re doing?!” Father dropped his chopsticks and shouted.
I quickly stood up and moved closer to the window. As the banner unfurled completely, the large letters were now clearly visible.
**[Mega Meat Does Not Deceive the Country of Origin]**
Below it, in smaller letters:
**[We apologize on behalf of the butcher industry for the unfortunate incidents involving nearby butcher shops.]**
“What’s up with those guys?” Min-jae was flabbergasted.
I slammed my Kanjajang bowl down. “They’re trying to lump us in with what happened to Mr. Choi.”
“They’re totally aiming for us, aren’t they?”
Father’s face turned bright red. I clenched my fists.
“Father, it makes no sense to bring up a story from over one month ago now.”
“Exactly. Besides, Mr. Choi’s family put the shop up for sale a long time ago…”
“Anyone can see what they’re trying to do. Are there any other ‘nearby butcher shops’ in this alley besides us?” Min-jae said excitedly.
I tried to take one or two more bites of the Kanjajang, but I couldn’t swallow it.
“Grrr…”
“I’ve lost my appetite.”
Father also put down his chopsticks and sighed. Min-jae picked up a piece of Kkanpunggi but put it right back.
“This… this is the first time I’ve ever thrown away Kkanpunggi,” Min-jae said, fuming.
We all stood up and cleared the dishes.
“Father.”
“Yeah?”
“We can’t just stay still. If those guys are going to act like this, we have to go an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Father thought for a moment, then nodded. “Right, as you think…”
Before Father could even finish his sentence, I was already kicking the door open and heading out.
“Jun-ho! Where are you going?”
“To Mega Meat!”
Min-jae hurriedly followed behind me. “Brother! Brother! Wait a minute!”
However, I was already striding toward the front of the Mega Meat building.
There is such a thing as business ethics—the minimum courtesy people in the same industry should observe. But those bastards had crossed the line once again.
“Where is the manager here?” I asked an employee as soon as I entered the Mega Meat butchery corner.
The employee flinched, perhaps feeling the murderous intent in my expression.
“Um… what can I help you with…?”
“Call the manager out here immediately.”
The employee hurriedly picked up the intercom. “Manager, a customer is looking for you… yes, it seems quite urgent.”
A short while later, a man in his mid-forties appeared. His name tag read ‘Manager Kim Jin-su.’
“Sir, how can I help you…?”
“The banner outside, who ordered that?”
Kim Jin-su looked flustered for a moment, but his expression soon turned aggressive. “Oh, that? It’s a guideline from the headquarters’ marketing team.”
“Headquarters? Who made that decision?”
“That is not something I would know,” Kim Jin-su said dismissively.
“Did CEO Park Jung-nam order it?”
When I pressed him, Kim Jin-su snorted. “CEO Park Jung-nam? You’re young, so you must not know how the world works.”
He crossed his arms and spoke arrogantly. “Do you not know how big of a company our Mega Group is? Aside from Mega Meat, we have several other brands. Mega Chicken, Mega Bur—”
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