'K-Street Food That Captured Global Taste Buds: Even BTS Jimin Ate It'

SNS Shows Consecutive Tteokbokki Photos
US Media "Increase in Tteokbokki Specialty Stores"
"K-Content Popularity Lowers Barriers for Korean Food"

Korea's representative street food, 'Tteokbokki,' is gaining great popularity overseas. While traditional Korean dishes such as bulgogi and bibimbap have been popular abroad, recently, with BTS member Jimin being spotted eating tteokbokki, it has emerged as a new Korean Wave food.

On the 8th, social networking services (SNS) have been filled with posts related to tteokbokki from overseas netizens. Netizens worldwide posted on Twitter, saying, "Cheese tteokbokki is popular not only among adults but also loved by children," "I made tteokbokki yesterday, and it tasted quite good," and "I thought the sauce in tteokbokki was tomato sauce, but I was surprised to hear it is gochujang. I want to try making it."

"Tteokbokki Takeover"... US Media Praises Tteokbokki

[Image source=Pixabay]

Earlier, on the 3rd (local time), US NBC also praised the popularity of tteokbokki in the United States, saying that "Tteokbokki has taken over."

The media reported, "Tteokbokki has started to be stocked in large supermarkets like Costco, and online sales are rapidly increasing," adding, "Tteokbokki specialty stores are also increasing." It further noted, "BTS member Jimin was spotted eating tteokbokki at a market in Seoul, which made tteokbokki a hot item on SNS."

Initially, the Korean dish that gained popularity in the West was undoubtedly bibimbap. In 2009, Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow named bibimbap as her favorite food.

However, as tteokbokki's popularity has risen recently, a tteokbokki specialty restaurant opened in New York last December. It is reported that the restaurant became so popular that a chain store was established last month. Also, Dongdaemun Yeopgi Tteokbokki, which opened a branch in Los Angeles in 2015, became famous among locals as "very spicy tteokbokki."

K-Content Popularity Leads to Korean Food

[Image source=Pixabay]

NBC analyzed that the reason tteokbokki is loved recently is due to the popularity of Korean popular culture. The media explained that besides tteokbokki, 'Jjapaguri (Jjapaghetti + Neoguri)' from director Bong Joon-ho's film 'Parasite' is also gaining popularity, and Korean movies and variety shows are increasing interest in Korean food.

A chef selling takeout tteokbokki in New York told NBC, "Recently, with the boom of K-culture such as Korean movies, dramas, and music, Korean food is becoming popularized and is being accepted as hip, cool, and worth trying." He added, "People who have never tried Korean food but like BTS and the movie 'Parasite' likely have a lower psychological barrier to Korean food."