Diners “Going Dutch”

[Anchor Lead]

Going Dutch, or everybody paying their own way at dinner, has been on the rise since the implementation of the Kim Young-ran anti-corruption law. That’s because paying separately is now the safest way to avoid possible violations of the anti-graft law.

[Pkg]

After eating together, the members of this party head to the checkout counter separately.

[Soundbite] “We'd like separate bills, please.”

While it was considered typical before the enactment of the Kim Young-ran anti-graft law for one person to pay for an entire group, the bill is now precisely divided four ways.

[Soundbite] Im Hye-jin(Seoul Resident) : "If this dining culture of paying separately settles in, people will feel no burden no matter who they eat with."

Things have also gotten busier at the cash register of this restaurant near the Government Complex. Three diners who have eaten a meal of seaweed soup each pay separate bills of a little over seven dollars.

[Soundbite] Won So-yeong(Seoul Resident) : "Sharing the bill reduces the overall burden."

The trend has spiked rapidly since the implementation of the anti-graft law.

[Soundbite] Oh Seong-min(Restaurant CEO) : "Separate bills have increased some 20 percent since the law took effect. There are many public officials and office workers in this Gwanghwamun area."

There's even a smartphone app that helps users to calculate the division of a bill. The total sum and the number of people are typed in and the individual amount is calculated immediately. Another app allows direct money transfers for people paying separately. Once viewed as a foreign custom, paying separate bills is spreading quickly in Korean society due to the Kim Young-ran anti-graft law.