Image by The Korea Herald [News @The Korea Herald]
Ah, the joy (or should I say joylessness) of waiting in line for the hottest restaurants these days! Let's be honest, folks, with Gen Z leading the charge, getting a table at a trendy spot feels like scoring front row seats at Beyoncé's comeback tour.
Remember those COVID days where the only lines we saw were at the grocery store for toilet paper? Yeah, those are long gone. Now it's elbows out, "hangry" stares aplenty as we battle for a taste of the latest Insta-worthy dish.
Sure, there are apps to check wait times, but let's be real, those numbers can fluctuate faster than a Kardashian relationship status. I once saw an app say a 30-minute wait, only to be greeted by a sea (yes, a sea) of people ahead of me. Three hours later, I finally shuffled in, only to see the wait time had doubled!
And don't even get me started on cafes! Euljiro's cafes are like Fort Knox with cuter lattes. I swear, the lines are longer than the Mississippi on a hot summer day. (Seriously, peep the photo evidence below, it's wild!)
Remember the Five Guys craze? My friend, bless their heart, waited EIGHT (8) HOURS for a burger! (Though let's be honest, these days, you wouldn't catch anyone dead waiting that long.)
Here's the thing, folks: waiting has become a marketing ploy. A trendy place pops up, social media explodes, and suddenly everyone needs to be there, even if it means sacrificing a limb (or at least your lunch break). It's like a badge of honor – "I suffered through the line, therefore this food must be amazing!" (Spoiler alert: sometimes it's not.) But hey, content is king, right?
Look, I get it, FOMO is real. But are we really this desperate for a good photo op? (Maybe, but hey, no judgment here!) What do YOU think?
Share your craziest waiting-in-line story in the comments below! The most epic tale (think: "Waited 10 hours for ramen and all I got was this lousy T-shirt") wins some FREE, adorable K-culture merch! Let's hear those hunger games tales!
