Korean cuisine continues to expand its presence in the Japanese market, now extending to street food offerings. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
TOKYO, Mar. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Riding on the Hallyu wave, Korean cuisine continues to expand its presence in the Japanese market, now extending to street food offerings.
At Asia’s largest food expo, Foodex Japan 2024, which opened for a four-day run on March 5 at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, the Korea Pavilion showcased a variety of Korean street foods including hotteok (sweet pancakes) and eomuk (skewered fish cakes).
The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), which organized the Korea Pavilion, chose K-Street Food as this year’s theme.
This decision was based on the growing demand among Japanese consumers for street food, as basic Korean foods like ramen and gim (seaweed) are already widely available and sold in large supermarkets in Japan.
According to Kim Kyu-hyun, manager at aT’s Tokyo office, there has been a noticeable increase in demand for Korean street food among Japanese buyers.
In fact, a survey conducted by Recruit’s HOT PEPPER magazine last September, targeting 2,075 men and women in their 20s and 30s, revealed that ’10-yen bread,’ a Japanese version of the Korean street snack ’10-won bread,’ emerged as the top trending food among young Japanese.
Won Seok-hee, a team leader at M&N, a Korean food manufacturer participating in the expo. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Visitors to the Korea Pavilion, particularly the eomuk stand, were seen lining up to try these popular Korean street food items.
Won Seok-hee, a team leader at M&N, a Korean food manufacturer participating in the expo, noted that social media has played a significant role in driving interest in new Korean street food, leading to a fourfold increase in sales over the past decade.
M&N, which manufactures Korean food products in Japan, has expanded its distribution channels by supplying hotteok as a dessert option to yakiniku chain restaurants, among other outlets.
This year, the Korea Pavilion featured 70 export companies dealing with items like ginseng, melon, kimchi, sauces, and fresh agricultural products, operating a total of 96 booths, including promotional booths for local governments.
This year, aT has set an export consultation goal of $90 million (approximately 120 billion won) for the Korea Pavilion.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
