ASMR and Mukbang Spread on YouTube and Expand to TikTok
Popular as Homemade Snacks During Social Distancing
High Demand Leads to Franchise Expansion and Improved Accessibility
Recently, tanghulu has gained great popularity both online and offline. Its sweet and sour taste and crispy, fun texture have captivated not only children and teenagers but also the palates of people in their 20s and 30s.
Tanghulu, also known as 'bingtanghulu,' is originally a traditional winter snack representing the North China region. In China, tanghulu consists of hawthorn berries skewered on a stick and coated with syrup-like boiled sugar. In Korea, this has been adapted mainly using fruits such as strawberries, grapes, tangerines, and pineapples.
Tanghulu's arrival in Korea is not recent. For a long time, it has been sold at various festivals or by street vendors in busy commercial areas like Hongdae and Myeongdong.
According to 'Some Trend,' from June 26 to July 3, the search volume for 'tanghulu' increased by a whopping 1288% compared to the same period last year. Many specialized franchises have emerged, and some franchise locations have become so popular that open runs and waiting lines have formed, marking the heyday of tanghulu.
Spread through ASMR and Mukbang, Popular Among Children and Teens on SNS
How did tanghulu come to enjoy such a heyday?
Until recently, tanghulu was known as a 'fun and sweet snack'?a treat known only to those in the know.
Then, it began trending through ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) YouTube videos capturing the crispy sound of the sugar coating on tanghulu.
As tanghulu became a popular item among ASMR YouTubers, mukbang YouTubers started featuring it in their videos, and lifestyle YouTubers shared recipes for making it at home, creating diverse content.
Its colorful and sparkling appearance made it a perfect item to post on photo-centric social networking service (SNS) Instagram. Children and teenagers also gained great popularity by uploading tanghulu ASMR videos or clips of making tanghulu on the short video sharing platform TikTok.
Thus, tanghulu captured the taste buds of children and teens with its sweet flavor and crispy texture and successfully established itself as a popular item on YouTube and SNS.
Though Making It at Home Is Troublesome, Demand Remains High... Likely Driving Franchise Expansion
During the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures, tanghulu, along with dalgona coffee, became a fun snack to make and enjoy at home.
However, making tanghulu at home is not easy. The sugar syrup must be boiled without stirring to coat the fruit surface smoothly, and precautions must be taken to prevent plates from breaking when the syrup hardens and is removed. Additionally, the syrup temperature can become dangerously high, increasing the risk of burns.
These difficulties in home preparation, combined with sustained popularity on SNS, seem to have influenced the expansion of tanghulu specialty franchises. 'Wangga Tanghulu,' the first tanghulu franchise in Korea, reportedly expanded to about 300 stores as of last month.
Also, on the 31st of last month, a job posting for a tanghulu franchise at Gangnam Station was shared on several online communities. According to the posting, hired employees must work 12 hours a day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., six days a week.
Under these conditions, the monthly salary is 3.75 million KRW, which translates to about 13,000 KRW per hour. This is approximately 42% higher than the current hourly minimum wage of 9,160 KRW.
Following the posting, comments such as "Tanghulu must be so popular that they pay that much to hire people" and curiosity about "How delicious must it be for people to gather like this?" surfaced.
Netizens who have tried the franchise's tanghulu recommended it, saying, "The sugar coating is thin, so it's not overwhelming to eat," and people in their 20s and 30s have also tried franchise tanghulu frequently, contributing to the tanghulu franchise craze.
In this way, tanghulu, boasting high demand due to its sweet taste and popularity as an SNS photo item, has become more accessible through franchise expansion, marking an unprecedented peak period.
Panda-Shaped Tanghulu, Tanghulu Bingsu, Tanghulu Ddungcaron Appear... Tanghulu Fever Expected to Continue
The tanghulu craze is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Beyond the traditional tanghulu with several pieces of the same fruit on one skewer, videos showing clown-shaped and panda-shaped tanghulu made with blueberries, strawberries, tangerines, and more are being shared on SNS.
Additionally, 'ice tanghulu' is being sold at ice cream discount stores. This product is frozen tanghulu, welcomed as a unique snack to enjoy during the hot summer.
In Incheon Yeongjongdo, a tanghulu cafe has opened. It is famous for selling 'tanghulu bingsu,' a unique shaved ice dessert that includes tanghulu along with finely shaved condensed milk-flavored ice and snacks. Photos of this product are also frequently posted on SNS.
Companies selling Korean-style macarons known as 'Ddungcaron,' famous for using all delicious ingredients, have already started incorporating tanghulu into their products.
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