'Hundreds of metal shards in my smoothie': Cafe owner's response prompts customer to go public

Online users expressed outrage after a consumer claimed she found a large number of metal fragments in a drink purchased at a cafe in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province — particularly after reports emerged that the cafe owner had told her to "eat samgyeopsal and wash it down with the grease."

According to the online community Nate Pann, a post titled "Hundreds of metal shards came out of my smoothie" was uploaded Wednesday and drew widespread attention.

The author, identified only as A, described herself as "a housewife living in Sangju." She said she had recently ordered three strawberry smoothies at a small independent cafe on the outskirts of the city. While waiting, she noticed an unusually loud noise from the blender but assumed it was a mechanical issue. She accepted the finished drinks and shared them with her husband and one of his coworkers.

While drinking, she felt something foreign in her mouth and spat it out — it was a metal fragment. She then checked the bottom of the cup and found a large number of additional metal pieces.

"I thought the foreign sensation was just strawberry seeds — I never imagined it could be metal shards," A said. "Thinking back to the loud noise from the blender, I first thought maybe the blade had broken. If that were the case, I would have considered it an honest mistake."

When she went to the cafe to find out what had happened, the explanation differed from what she had expected. A staff member who said she had been on the job for only three days admitted she "had been flustered and blended the drink with a spoon still inside." The owner, identified as B, reviewed closed-circuit television footage and confirmed the employee's account.

B apologized, offered a refund and suggested the customers see a doctor. Although the victims had consumed a significant amount of the drinks, none showed serious symptoms, and they remained symptom-free in the days that followed, so they did not seek medical attention.

A later contacted B to say everyone was fine. During the conversation, B raised the subject of consolation payments, saying the standard range under insurance guidelines was typically between zero and 200,000 won ($133). A then asked for a consolation payment of 300,000 to 400,000 won, along with insurance coverage for any injuries confirmed within the following week.

B subsequently discussed only the insurance option, and A said she told him to "just close the matter without any consolation payment or insurance settlement, since several days had passed and there were no major symptoms."

What ultimately led A to go public, she said, was something B said in their final exchange.

"Even in our last conversation, the owner kept repeating that 'the amount of metal shards in two of the cups may have been relatively small,' then mentioned a sum described as a meal allowance and told me to 'eat samgyeopsal and wash it down with the grease,'" A said. "I had wanted to wrap things up amicably, but I felt his response after that point was unacceptable."

She added: "I found myself wondering whether that was really an appropriate response from a business to a consumer in a situation where metal fragments had been mixed into food and actually ingested. It felt like he was treating the whole thing far too lightly, and honestly, I was very upset."

A said she subsequently contacted the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and, following its guidance, filed a report with the sanitation division of the relevant local government.

Online users reacted with a range of comments. "There are people who would let it go if the apology were sincere, but when the owner goes straight into defensive deflection out of fear of being asked for more money, it makes you feel worse and less inclined to just move on," one wrote. Another said: "Whether it was a little or a lot, they still ate metal shards — is the owner saying a smaller amount is fine?" Others urged the victims to visit a hospital as a precaution. Some users, however, questioned A's motives, with one writing: "She got an apology, was offered money, and still filed a report — if she wanted more, she should have just gone back to the cafe and asked."