SEOUL, Feb 8 — South Korea’s social media has been on a full-blown sushi roll this week, thanks to a Seoul conveyor-belt joint that banned a family for polishing off 30 plates of just two types of fish — a saga that has everyone asking: how many flounder is too many flounder?

What began as a quiet early lunch quickly turned into the country’s most talked-about dining drama. 

A woman in her 50s, known only as A, reportedly took her mother, husband and younger brother to their usual sushi spot. 

Her mother only eats flounder, her brother really likes salmon, and the family were the first customers of the day. 

So they did what hungry people do: ordered 20 plates of salmon, 10 plates of flounder, and grabbed a few eel and tuna plates for good measure.

No raised eyebrows. No “perhaps try a few other dishes?” Nothing. All seemed fine — until they got to the counter. 

After adding up the bill, the owner reportedly dropped the bombshell: “Please do not visit our restaurant again in the future.”

According to local reports, the owner felt the family had thrown the restaurant’s delicate fish-to-profit ratio off balance. 

Conveyor-belt sushi, after all, depends on variety and margin — and flounder isn’t exactly the cheapest fish to slice.

But the family were stunned. If there was an issue, they argued, the owner could have just said something during the meal instead of banning them outright.

TV panellists agreed. On the current-affairs show Scandal Supervisor, commentators wondered why the restaurant didn’t simply set limits or put up a small “don’t overdo the flounder” notice. 

“Hard to believe there was any other reason,” one panellist said.

Netizens, predictably, split into camps. 

Team Owner said: Look, conveyor-belt sushi is designed for grazing, not bulk-buying your favourite fish like you’re at a warehouse sale. 

Team Customer countered: Sushi etiquette isn’t a real thing, and if restaurants have secret rules, they should say so.

One user summed it up with classic Korean bluntness: “If you don’t want people to eat flounder, maybe don’t put flounder on a conveyor belt.”

And so the country debates on — chopsticks in one hand, phone in the other — over what might be the most unexpectedly heated question of the week: Is it rude to take 30 plates of your favourite sushi, or just very, very committed?