Park Yong-jin, a 30-year-old office worker in Seoul, used to go to restaurants near his office for lunch but began to feel the impact on his wallet because of soaring dining costs.
Korean food and beverage companies are increasingly entering the Japanese market in pursuit of broader opportunities, largely driven by a saturated market at home and to capitalize on the rising popularity of Korean cuisine in the neighboring country. As of 2023, Japan saw a total of 19 Korean food franchises operating a combined 133 branches nationwide. According to the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trad.
Dongdaemun Yupdduk, one of Korea s major tteokbokki franchises that started as a small street market vendor in 2002, has broken its annual sales record by surpassing 100 billion won ($73 million), according to the franchise operator, Hotseasoner, Thursday.
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A recent survey on Korea’s kimchi consumption has shown a shift in preference toward shop-bought kimchi rather than home-made kimchi. And 4 out of 10 households found that their children did not eat kimchi. According to the 2023 Kimchi Industry Survey Analysis Report by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., 40.9 percent of the 3,183 households surveyed answered that their children do not consume kimchi. .