Korean food
Overseas Korean food fans choose soju, bibimbap as favorites
The two have the highest awareness in Southeast Asia; soju is enjoying fast-growing popularity in North America
By May 10, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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South Korea’s soju and bibimbap are respectively the most popular liquor and food among foreigners, according to survey results released by the government-backed Korean Food Promotion Institute on Friday.
In the survey conducted last year of 9,000 foreigners living outside Korea, some 41.1% said they knew of soju, a strong Korean liquor. In the multiple-choice category, Korean beer ranked second with 31.6%, followed by gwashilju, fruit-infused liquor, with 22.8% and cheongju, clear refined rice, and Korean wine with 17.9%.
Soju was the best known in Southeast Asia, where 62.7% of the surveyed people recognized the so-called Korean vodka. Some 33.0% and 20.6% of those surveyed in North America and Europe knew of the distilled alcoholic beverage, respectively.
Some 57.7% of the 9,000 surveyed said they would drink Korean alcohol, up 4.3 percentage points from a year earlier.
Some 65.5% of those polled in Northeast Asia said they would, followed by 59.3% in North America. The figure in North America jumped by 12.1 percentage points on-year, proving the increasing popularity of Korean alcoholic beverages in the region. Korean alcohol was less popular in Europe, where 47.7% of those surveyed would drink it.
For reasons they would drink Korean alcohol, 35.1% said because it is tasty. Some 16.0% said they have received recommendations, and 15.5% answered they have learned about the drinks from Korean drama series or movies.
Some 39.2% were familiar with well-known Korean instant meals. By region, about 60.6% of those polled in Southeast Asia recognized such food, followed by 52.7% in Northeast Asia. The packaged meals were less known in North America and Europe with 26.1% and 20.7% awareness, respectively.
About 45.4% of those surveyed have tried Korean instant meals. Bibimbap, or cooked rice with seasoned vegetables and hot pepper paste gochujang, topped their favorite easy meals with 22.8% of votes. Gimbap or Korean rolls, won 19.1%, followed by kimchi fried rice and Korean ramen with 13.0% and 11.5%, respectively.
For foreigners’ choice of Korean instant food, taste was the most important standard with 21.0% of votes. Price ranked second with 13.5%, followed by quality and convenience with 11.5% and 10.7%, respectively.
Write to Hun-Hyoung Ha at hhh@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.
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