The ripple effect that culture has is truly astonishing. The COVID-19 pandemic has been immobilizing the whole world for over two years, but in line with the rapid growth of the online consumption market, the world's attention has been focusing on Korean cultural contents, which has been riding the Internet media content service(OTT: over-the-top) wave. This interest has naturally shifted to our food culture. And this article will introduce Korean food, which has touched the palates of people around the world.

Photo. <SBS>, <tvN>, <JTBC> 

“Korean Fried Chicken,” 

a K-food in <My Love from the Stars>

"My Love from the Stars," a drama series about the surreal love of an alien and a top celebrity in Korea, reappeared on most of the OTT platforms such as Netflix, Tving, Wave, and Watcha in 2020, thanks to its popularity. The series was aired in Asia, mainly China, right after it was aired in Korea. It was very popular, and the food culture that became a topic at the time was “chimaek.” 

“On a snowy day, you have to have chicken and beer…” This menu, which refers to a combination of chicken and beer, became a topic of discussion after the female protagonist, Cheon Song-yi, chose it as her favorite food. Later, large-scale tourists from China visited Korea one after another to taste “Korean-style chicken,” causing domestic chicken restaurants to open late into the night. Chicken also appeared as a staple in the recent drama series, <Crash Landing on You>, which stimulated the curiosity of the taste of foreign viewers, who have not yet tried it. There is a great diversity of opinion whether or not chicken is Korean food in Korea, but foreign countries choose Korean fried chicken as a representative K-food, and have been going crazy over it with the evaluations, such as “a variety of seasoning flavors are available” and “harmony of tastes.” This can be inferred from the results of the “Overseas Korean Food Consumer Survey” conducted jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institution on 8,500 local residents in 17 major overseas cities between August and September last year. The status of “Korean fried chicken” changed from before due to the popularity of Korean cultural contents, which were well received, and was selected as the most preferred Korean food for those who have tried Korean food.
 

A Smart Korean Hanjeongsik

in <Youn’s Stay> 

The <Youn's Kitchen> series, which introduced the taste and culture of Korea to foreigners in an overseas background, turned its eyes to Korea last year due to the spread of COVID-19, and drew great response from domestic and foreign viewers. It presented the tranquility of hanok and the deep flavors of Korean food to foreigners, who came to Korea for study or work but were unable to properly experience Korean culture under social distancing conditions.

Foreign guests visited a hanok house in Gurye, Jeollanam-do with a variety of composition, including colleagues, friends, and family, for the first time in their lives. They stayed overnight in a hot ondol(Korean floor heating system) room, and were served a proper Hanjeongsik(Korean table d’hote) table.
“It’s delicious, but it’s the first time I’ve tried it.”
“So, I think it’s better.”
A variety of dishes that were unusual and hard to see in daily life were introduced, including yullan(chestnut balls) tteokgalbi(grilled short rib patties), which is made by coating cooked and mashed chestnut with marinated tteokgalbi and grilling it on a griddle, yuksanjeok(meat skewers) that is made by skewering mushroom and beef alternately on a skewer and grilling, bamtarakjuk(rice milk porridge with chestnut) that added nuttiness with chestnuts and milk, and jjimdak(braised chicken) that work up an appetite with the harmony of sweet and savory tastes, and stimulated the palates of foreign guests and those of Korean viewers at home. 

<Youn’s Stay> adds to the enjoyment of viewing Korean food with the balanced taste and nutrition of Korean food, as well as the sincerity of preparing each dish and the proper table setting. Perhaps it is the power of the world-famous movie, <Parasite>, <Youn’s Stay> drew the world's attention by surpassing 14.8 million views on the online platform at the time, due to the performance of all-round intern Choi Woosik. The reaction of overseas viewers who saw it through YouTube, etc., was also very warm. Some were curious about the taste of Korean food, and some expressed interest by saying that they would like to experience various Korean flavors by visiting Korea after COVID-19 is over.

Sundubu Jjigae

in <Itaewon Class>

“Liquor being sweet means that today was an impressive day.” <Itaewon Class>, a drama series that was aired in early 2020, has since been serviced in 190 countries around the world through Netflix, thus gaining popularity. This drama became a hot topic when it was aired in Korea because it tells the story of young aspiring people and their business success story in Itaewon. The drama, which was released to the world through the OTT platform, drew plenty of attention from Asia, especially in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, etc. Such a result naturally led to interest in Korean food that appeared in the series, and among them, Thai viewers’ interest in Korean food is noteworthy. Sundubu jjigae(seafood and soft bean curd stew), which the team led by Park Saeroyi presented through a contest, stimulated the curiosity of young Thai people. Korean dishes were introduced through famous Thai YouTubers, leading to the expansion of their interest in our overall agricultural and fishery products, such as kimchi and sauces, including gochujang and doenjang, and the export of the products. 

This is not the first Korean food boom in Thailand. In 2005, even before the OTT platform was created, the popular drama series, <Dae Jang Geum>, aired on Channel 3, a large terrestrial broadcaster in Thailand, leading to the viewers’ interest in Korean food. The recipes introduced in the drama, elegant dining etiquette, and luxurious royal food drew plenty of attention from Thais, and Korean restaurants in Thailand opened one after another. From the interest in traditional Korean food in the past to K-food, which is led mainly by young people, the taste of Korea through culture is gradually diversifying.