음식물쓰레기를 줄이기 위해서 필요한 노력은 무엇이 있을까요?🧐 오늘의 언박싱 '남겨지는 음식과 K-급식' 시작합니다📦 | EP.25 | KBS 240130 방송

Recap

The episode tackles food waste with a mix of comedy, statistics, and on-the-ground visits. It opens with the hosts complaining that they’re starving—then, conveniently, bread arrives just as they begin unboxing. The “product” is a mock-up called the Ding Plate, a voice-activated food teleporter that supposedly moves portions between diners. One person wants only two pieces while another asks for more, prompting jokes about whether this miraculous gadget could finally prevent leftovers.

The conversation then turns serious. Resource-circulation expert Kim Su-jeong describes the scale of global food waste, comparing its annual volume to a mountain more than 2,400 meters high. The panel also hears that households are major contributors and that decomposing food waste releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. The hosts react with disbelief—and a little embarrassment—as they realize how much waste their everyday habits generate.

The episode highlights South Korea’s food-waste sorting and recycling system, including Busan’s early adoption of volume-based fees and apartment food-waste measurement machines. During a field visit, residents praise a reduction machine for being cleaner and easier to use. It biologically decomposes waste and substantially reduces its volume. A late-night trip to a processing facility shows the less glamorous destination of discarded food: one site handles about 105 tons a day, while Busan’s facilities together process hundreds of tons daily.

The practical advice is simple: plan purchases, store food carefully, cook only what people will eat, and squeeze excess moisture from food scraps before disposal.

The show also visits an elementary-school cafeteria with nutrition teacher Kim Hye-ran. She explains efforts to reduce leftovers through daily waste tracking, nutrition lessons, and a weekly “eat everything” day. A parent gets to inspect ingredients and preparation firsthand, while students are shown enjoying their meals. The school’s fresh, on-site cooking is presented as a model that visitors from other countries have come to study.

The episode closes with the guests reflecting on their own habits and urging people to take only what they can finish. The final mood is earnest but playful: the group rallies around an environmental slogan, and the hosts joke that the food was so delicious they cleaned their plates.

People Featured

• Kim Su-jeong — Representative of the Resource Circulation Center and the episode’s food-waste expert
• Kim Hye-ran — Nutrition teacher at Yangjong Elementary School
• Seong Sang-won — Field reporter who visits the apartment complex and food-waste facility
• The studio hosts and panelists — Several appear, but their names are unclear in the subtitles