February 22, 2024
SEOUL – Creatrip, South Korean inbound tourism service platform, on Wednesday announced the Korean food trends among foreign holidaymakers in 2023.
Based on the online transaction data collected throughout 2023, Korean-style fried chicken was selected as the most popular Korean food for overseas tourists.
The platform explained that many foreigners enjoyed fried chicken via online delivery services and reservations.
In addition, an increasing number of tourists were looking for more unique ways to taste chicken dishes, like Kyochon Pilbang, an Itaewon-based offline chicken restaurant presenting omakase-style fried chicken in a private room.
“Ganjang gejang,” or raw crab marinated in soy sauce, took the second spot following the Korean fried chicken.
The marinated crab made up more than 85 percent of Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong tourists’ Korean menu, according to the platform.
While grilled meat and “bunsik,” or collection of Korea street food — from gimbap, tteokbokki, ramyeon and more — were other popular choices for Chinese tourists, Japanese travelers chose to experience “hanjeongsik,” a traditional Korean course meal that features a wide variety of dishes.
Korean-style fried chicken and bunsik took first and second place for the most sought-after Korean food among Western holidaymakers as well.
However, the dessert menus, including toasts, donuts and “bingsu,” a Korean shaved ice dessert popular in the summer, were the popular choices especially for Western and Singaporean travelers.