Shocking: Cho Kuk's "Ordinary" Breakfast

Food not found on the actual restaurant menu
An online controversy is brewing over a photo of a breakfast eaten by former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, Cho Kuk, in Haeyido, Sinan, Jeollanam-do. The debate centers on whether it was appropriate for Cho to describe the spread—which included abalone porridge, whole abalone, and steamed semi-dried rockfish—as an "'ordinary' breakfast."
On the 3rd, Cho posted a photo on his SNS, stating, "An 'ordinary' breakfast enjoyed at Jungang Restaurant in Haeyido." He placed quotation marks around the word 'ordinary.' Supporters interpreted this as admiration for the generous table spreads of the Jeolla region. Reactions such as "In Jeolla, that level is considered ordinary" and "I'm envious that such a spread, which is hard to find in Seoul, is called an ordinary breakfast" followed.
Critics, however, saw it differently. They argue that describing a meal featuring abalone and large steamed fish as 'ordinary' is far removed from the daily life of an average person. This has also revived past criticisms of Cho, such as "pretending to be a commoner" and the "discrepancy between his words and his actual lifestyle."
The actual meal was different from the standard set menu (baekban) typically served at Jungang Restaurant. According to a confirmation by Jugan Kyunghyang with the owner of Jungang Restaurant on the 5th, the food ordered by Cho's party was not the standard set menu, but abalone porridge. Abalone porridge is not an item on the restaurant's menu. The fish shown in the photo was identified as steamed semi-dried rockfish. When asked if it was specially prepared for Cho's party, the owner replied, "They said they were having breakfast, but we didn't have anything else to give them. So we just prepared it that way." The owner was unaware that Cho had posted the meal on SNS, asking back, "Did he take a photo and post it?"
Regarding whether other customers can also eat abalone porridge, the owner replied, "Please call us when you come." This implies it can be made if requested in advance. While the food Cho ate is not the "ordinary breakfast" typically served as a set menu at the restaurant, it is not a matter that can be concluded as special treatment received because he is a politician.
There is also a counterargument likely to be raised by Cho's supporters: that nitpicking "what someone ate for breakfast" is merely "trash journalism" looking for flaws. First, the "essence" of Cho's visit to Haeyido was not the breakfast menu. Haeyido is the hometown of former President Kim Dae-jung. It houses Kim's birthplace and has consistently been given political significance as an island symbolizing democracy, human rights, and peace. Cho visited Haeyido while carrying out his schedule in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, which can be seen as a natural move for someone who identifies as a progressive politician.
However, critics read into Cho's characteristic image-making. They argue that eating abalone porridge and rockfish stew—items not on the menu or typically part of the set menu—and then describing it as 'ordinary' was an act performed for show. This incident also overlaps with last year's "soybean paste stew controversy." On the day he was released following a special presidential pardon on Liberation Day, Cho ate at a high-end Hanwoo (Korean beef) specialty restaurant with his family but only posted a video of the soybean paste stew on his SNS. When criticized for "pretending to be a commoner," Cho countered by saying he never claimed he didn't eat meat.
In both cases, he did not tell a lie. The controversy arose not from what Cho actually ate, but from what he chose to select from that experience and what expressions he used to present it to the public. Last year, the soybean paste stew from the Hanwoo meal remained on the screen, and this time, the word 'ordinary' was attached to a table featuring off-menu abalone porridge and rockfish stew.
Looking at the same food photo, one side sees "nitpicking by trash journalists," while the other sees "hypocrisy in staging ordinariness." The reason why Cho Kuk's "mukbang" (eating shows) repeatedly escalate into political controversies lies in that very gap.