”Experience refugee status by paying 10,000 won”... Busan Ramen Festival draws criticism

The World Ramen Festival, held in Gijang, Busan, had attracted high expectations even before it began, but tourists who visited criticized it as "the worst."
According to the Busan City Government on the 6th, the 2025 World Ramen Festival, organized by the Busan 16-gu County Disabled Persons Association and the non-profit organization Himan (Hope) Boat, will be held.
The festival, held for the first time this year, featured representative ramen brands from Korea, as well as
Ramen brands from over 15 countries, including Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and the U.S., participated in the event. The admission fee was 10,000 won (about 1,020 yen) per person.
This festival attracted a lot of attention with its variety of food, performances, and experience content.
Visitors to the festival gave the festival a rating of less than one star on the portal site. Not only were there no hot water at the ramen festival, but the visitors also had trouble eating ramen.
Also, the variety of ramen was limited. One portal site review stated, "Only three types of domestic ramen and three types of Southeast Asian ramen were available. The machine that makes the ramen was broken.
"It was a ramen festival, but there was no hot water or pots. You should definitely not go," were the comments, and many people pointed out the insufficient preparation for the event.
Others said, "I paid 10,000 won to experience being a refugee," "There are more types of ramen at home," and "There was no shade at the booth, so I had a hard time in the hot sun. I only used the toilet and left in five minutes."
In fact, the photos and videos posted on reviews and social media showed the site looking more like a desolate vacant lot than a festival.
Ramen boxes were scattered across the sand and gravel ground. The long shelves were lined with the same kinds of ramen, as if they weren't fully prepared for the festival yet.
Internet users who saw this commented, "Is this not the Ramen World Festival, but the 'Three' Festival?", "This is a disgrace to Busan," and "This is 10,000 yen."
They responded with things like, ``Are they going to pay won too?''