[Square] The Opportunity for K-Food, Going Global by Embracing 'Local'

Mungyeongseon, Senior Researcher in Food & Nutrition at Euromonitor

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The aftermath of the film Parasite, which swept the Academy Awards with four wins, is leading to a Korean Wave craze. Riding the explosive interest in Jjapaguri (a combination of Chapagetti and Neoguri) featured in key scenes of the movie, Nongshim is reportedly considering launching Jjapaguri cup noodles in the U.S. market. This comes at a time when interest in K-food has been rising in the U.S. over the past few years, with Jjapaguri marking a peak. To capitalize on this opportunity and continue the K-food craze, Nongshim is producing YouTube promotional videos of Jjapaguri recipes in 11 different languages, drawing global consumer attention. Even before the Parasite effect, Nongshim had been actively promoting Shin Ramyun noodles under the name ‘Shin Ramyun Light’ in the U.S. market. This campaign played a significant role in reshaping the image of ramen from junk food to a premium and healthy representative of K-food.

While domestic food companies have continuously invested to raise awareness of K-food, 2020 is expected to be a crucial year where local consumers positively embrace the culture, unique flavors, and images embedded in K-food, allowing it to settle as a new local culture. Starting the year with the film Parasite opening the door is indeed a fortunate event.

Euromonitor recently introduced the ‘local in, global out’ trend as one of the 2020 global consumer trends, predicting that regional characteristics will captivate global consumers. Consumers are increasingly attached to their birthplace and upbringing, proudly challenging the global stage based on their local food and culture. Conversely, this means that beyond the universal global culture, consumers will show greater interest in new tastes and cultures with strong regional characteristics.

Global consumers are ready to enjoy new and exotic cultures, and especially at this moment when unprecedented interest is focused on Korean culture and K-food, food companies must reconsider one important point to truly integrate with local consumers. Korean foods widely known such as ramen, kimchi, and gochujang actually attempted to enter overseas markets decades ago. However, spicy Korean food was quickly dismissed as strange by locals, and fermented kimchi was often treated like garbage due to its smell. Among international students, there was even a joke that the only thing that could neutralize the strong smell of durian, the ‘king of Southeast Asian fruits’ known for its pungent odor, was Korean rotten kimchi. Before properly tasting it, locals developed an aversion to Korean food, and for decades, products labeled ‘for export’ like ramen and gochujang were only available in Korean or Asian grocery stores, barely recognized by locals.

Why has the status of K-food suddenly risen so much in the global market, even though recipes haven’t changed significantly and the spiciness or unique smell of Korean food hasn’t diminished? To put it simply, recent K-food has approached Korean cuisine not in our traditional way but in ways that locals enjoy. While Koreans use gochujang in rice, stews, and wraps, locals enjoy it as a spread on bread and marvel at its spiciness paired with tortillas and hamburgers. Spicy food was introduced mixed with cream and cheese, familiar dairy products to Americans and Europeans, showing that spicy flavors can be deliciously enjoyed. This was the result of considering how Korean food could fit into local food cultures rather than strictly adhering to Korean methods.

Until now, domestic manufacturers have applied the so-called ‘Sintoburi’ (our soil and our people) frame?‘our own is the most precious’?to Korean culture and food entering overseas markets. However, Sintoburi is the best approach only for Koreans. We must not forget that in the U.S. and Europe, there are ways that suit them, and recognizing this is the starting point for K-food’s expansion worldwide.