SEOUL, January 08 (AJP) - Walking through university districts and busy shopping streets in major Chinese cities, signs for Korean-style food are increasingly hard to miss. Advertisements for “Korean-style lunch boxes,” “Korean fried chicken” and rabokki — ramyeon cooked with tteokbokki rice cakes — line storefronts catering to young consumers.
Convenience stores prominently stock Shin Ramyun and Buldak Bokkeum Myun with Chinese-language labels, while dormitory shops sell Choco Pie and Pepero as everyday snacks.
On Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media platform, thousands of videos recreating Korean foods are uploaded daily. The content has helped introduce K-food even to consumers who have never visited South Korea, making its flavors and dishes widely recognizable.
Unlike in the past, when Korean cuisine spread mainly through restaurants, K-food is now expanding rapidly via social media, television dramas, variety shows and food delivery platforms.
Li Mingzi, a 23-year-old university student, said her interest began with street-food scenes in Korean dramas. “After that, I came across many kinds of Korean food through recommended videos on Bilibili and Xiaohongshu,” she said.
Industry observers say a key factor behind K-food’s success in China is localisation tailored to local tastes.
Chen, a chef at a Korean-style restaurant, said dishes are often adapted by toning down the heat of traditional gochujang and adding flavors familiar to young Chinese diners, such as mala-style spice or sweet soy-based sauces.
At the same time, restaurants try to preserve defining elements of the cuisine, he said, such as mixing bibimbap before eating and maintaining the fermented kimchi flavor in kimchi stew.
A survey of 100 Chinese respondents showed broad awareness of Korean food, with 93 percent saying they had at least some familiarity. Of those, 45 percent said they knew “basic information,” suggesting a sizable potential consumer base.
Social media emerged as the main point of contact, cited by 78 percent of respondents, followed by Korean dramas, variety shows and films at 65 percent, and food delivery apps at 55 percent. Some 88 percent said they believe K-food is likely to move beyond a short-lived trend and become a lasting part of China’s food culture.
As Korean food becomes part of everyday life in China, it is increasingly seen as a starting point for deeper interaction between Chinese and South Korean culinary traditions, reflecting a broader, two-way cultural exchange.
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