Who needs money when you have a pretty face, right?. At Jeju Island, a Korean eatery in Zhengzhou city, China, people are allowed to dine at no charge if they happen to be among the five most beautiful patrons of the day. Hanging outside the establishment last Saturday was a bold sign that stated: “Free Meal for Goodlooking”.

If you think the practice is bizarre, wait till you hear who the judges are – a panel of local plastic surgeons! All those hoping to earn a free meal are taken to a ‘beauty identification area’, where they are photographed. The doctors then evaluate the potential diners on the quality of their faces, eyes, noses, and mouths.

Reports state that protruding foreheads are given special preference. The top five good-looking people who achieve the highest score in 30 minutes are offered a meal for free. The scoring standards are publicly displayed on the restaurant’s second floor.

As news of the scheme spread, Chinese social media websites were filled with jokes and debates on how people would fare at the restaurant’s beauty contest. “I reckon I can get a one percent discount with my face,” a Weibo user joked.

“Do the ugly have to pay twice?” another person wondered.

Zhengzhou authorities, on the other hand, weren’t amused by the restaurant’s tactics. They accused the initiative of damaging the city’s image and said that the garish sign did was not officially granted permission. The offending sign was finally taken down on Tuesday, after teams of security guards and demolition workers descended on the restaurant and demanded its removal.

Restaurant manager Xue Hexin, however, said that the removal of the sign did not imply that the ‘Pay by Face’ promotion would be stopped. “We will be more prudent with our advertising in future,” she said. “But the promotion will continue despite the demolition of our sign.”

via Shanghaiist