[Global Star K-Food]④ "Tteokbokki Sugoi"... Japan Captivated by K-Food

Japan's Largest Retailer Aeon Sees Popularity of Korean Frozen Foods
York Mart Expands Spicy Flavors with Korean Kimchi and Ramyeon
'4th Generation Hallyu' Wave Extends to K-Food
Record-High Yen Depreciation Causes Worries for Domestic Exporters
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Strives to Discover Distinctive Products

On the 29th of last month, at the AEON Style Shin-Urayasu store in Tokyo, Japan. AEON, Japan's largest distribution and retail company, opened a store specializing in frozen foods from various regions in the second half of last year. What stands out is that four refrigerated display cases of K-Food labeled in Hangul, including Sundubu-jjigae, Kimchi-jjigae ramen, and Cheese Tteokbokki, are located in the center of the store. Above the display cases, there was a yellow advertisement in Japanese saying "Bringing K-Food to the table," along with a photo of Tteokbokki, one of the most popular Korean foods in Japan recently. AEON strengthened its product lineup after the surge in sales of Korean frozen foods in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The market grew rapidly as Japanese people who could not visit Korea turned their interest to K-Food.

The popularity of K-Food was also evident at Caferrant, a caf? operated by AEON Mall right next door. This place mainly sells coffee and imported processed goods, and nearly half of the entire display was filled with Korean products. Due to the high preference for Korean products, the store separately categorized "K-Food" in the "Asian Food" corner. Various beverages and snacks imported from Korea lined the shelves, resembling a domestic food store.

A Japanese customer is selecting Korean food products at the famous variety store 'Mega Donki' in the Korean town near Shin-Okubo Station in Tokyo.

Near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, the food specialty store York Mart is a large supermarket under Seven & I Holdings, which operates Japan's largest convenience store chain. Notably, as the preference for Korean "spicy flavors" has increased recently among Japan's younger generation, related K-Food items have been placed throughout the store. Famous spicy Korean products such as Samyang's "Buldak Bokkeum Myun" and Nongshim's Shin Ramyun have established themselves as major products, and Dongwon's "Tteokbokki's God," which started selling in Japan in 2018, has also emerged as a popular instant cooking product. In the kimchi corner, domestic products emphasized their originality and occupied the center of the display. Hagi Seok, CEO of Dongwon Japan, said, "Recently, the younger generation in Japan has become less averse to Korean spicy flavors, making it a very familiar food. Among Dongwon products sold in Japan, tteokbokki ranks second in popularity after seaweed."

In fact, Korea's agricultural and food exports to Japan have shown an overall upward trend before and after COVID-19. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), exports of agricultural and fishery products to Japan increased by 8.0%, from $2 billion in 2020 to $2.16 billion last year. Representative export items include leafy vegetables, seaweed, tuna, ginseng, snacks, and paprika, while recently, K-Food such as chicken and tteokbokki is rapidly establishing itself.

This phenomenon is closely related to the recent "4th generation Hallyu" wave sweeping Japan. The first generation of Hallyu, which began in the early 2000s with dramas like "Winter Sonata" and "Dae Jang Geum," continued through 2010 with "Girls' Generation" and 2020 with BTS, expanding its base to include K-Food favored by stars. Yoon Sang-young, head of aT Tokyo office, explained, "Starting with the first generation Hallyu wave, there was a difficult period around 2010 when Korea-Japan relations cooled, and local distributors avoided Korean products, even refraining from using Hangul labels. However, recently, the 4th Hallyu wave has created an atmosphere where Korean products can be promoted more openly."

The Hallyu wave was also evident the next morning in Shin-Okubo, Tokyo’s Korean town. Starting with the K-pop craze, Hallyu has extended to K-Food, making this area a popular entertainment district among Japanese youth. Nearby are stores selling photos and bromides of K-pop celebrities, as well as major Korean restaurant chains such as Hosigi Two Chicken and Hong Kong Banjeom. In front of the outdoor store of Mega Donki, a famous variety store among Korean travelers, representative Korean foods dominated the display. Ichika Fukuda (22) said, "I visit Korean town about once a week after getting curious about the spicy taste of tteokbokki that TWICE ate. I usually like samgyeopsal and chicken, but recently I’ve become hooked on spicy gopchang."

However, despite the K-Food craze in Japan, domestic export companies are going through a difficult time due to the historic yen depreciation. Yoon, the head of the office, expressed concern, saying, "Due to the yen depreciation, domestic food export companies are selling products at a loss to maintain stable supply despite recent negative operating profits." Supply instability caused by domestic price fluctuations and the expansion of similar products replacing Korean goods are also challenges to be addressed. Accordingly, the government plans to discover new export items with uniquely Korean characteristics next year and strengthen marketing of Korean products, including the use of a joint 'K-Food' logo.