Webtoon artist Kim Gyu-sam gifted studio staff 169,000-won hanwoo sets — and got an earful

Kim Gyu-sam, the webtoon artist behind "Vigilante" and "Cheonrima Mart," has gone public with a frustrating Chuseok experience after sending hanwoo beef sets as holiday gifts, only for recipients to receive what he described as defective products. Kim said he was disappointed not only by the seller's response but also by the retail platform's handling of the matter.

On Monday, Kim posted on the Naver Webtoon community, writing that he had sent 169,000-won ($122) hanwoo sets to his studio staff as holiday gifts, only for the products shown in the photos to arrive. The images he shared showed cuts of beef with an unusually high proportion of fat.

"The hanwoo that arrived was a lump of inedible fat, and the recipient was so embarrassed they had to let me know," Kim wrote. He said he contacted the seller but received no explanation, and that the customer service center responded only through a chatbot.

The consumer frustration Kim experienced reflects what many consider an entrenched problem in online shopping. A 2024 Korea Consumer Agency survey of 1,500 users across five major domestic online shopping platforms found that 26.4 percent — roughly one in four — had experienced complaints or harm while using the services. Delivery delays were the most common grievance at 60.6 percent, followed by damaged products at 32.8 percent and missing deliveries at 18.7 percent.

In fact, the problems extend well beyond late deliveries. In one complaint filed with the Korea Consumer Agency, a customer who ordered two garments from an online shopping platform received only one, with the second failing to arrive even after a month. When the customer asked for a refund if delivery was not possible, the seller repeatedly delayed taking action, leaving the matter unresolved three months after the original order was placed.