The popularity of one of Korea's most well-known street foods, tteokbokki, appears to be on the rise in Australia, as seen by the recent opening of an iconic franchise in Melbourne.
Sinjeon Tteokbokki, which has more than 700 franchises in Korea and overseas franchises in the USA, Vietnam and Taiwan, opened its ninth overseas branch in Melbourne at the end of 2019.
Hundreds of people queued on the restaurant's opening day.
Store manager Ye-eun Oh said the popularity of the chain since it opened was only raising the profile of Korean street foods in Australia.
"Many Australian friends around me already knew about tteokbokki. I was very surprised because they were making Tteokbokki at home. I think many people in Australia already like spicy food. Overall, I believe we're getting closer to spicy food here," Ms Oh said.
Fellow manager Min-ah Son stressed that the growing popularity of Korean street food abroad was a completely new trend that could be on a similar path to popularity as other fads from the Asian country, including K-pop and K-drama.
Min-ah Son and Ye-eun Oh, managers of the Melbourne branch of Sinjeon Tteokbokki Source: SBS Korean
“In the past, the Korean food was known as healthy and well-being foods such as kimchi, bulgogi and bibimbap. Recently many people know [the band] BTS and other K-pop groups because of the development of the Korean culture industry, right? So the culture that they consume and the food culture that they enjoy also became very interesting.
“These days, people are interested in Korean street food including tteokbokki and many people are aware of it. So I think it's a totally new trend.
“There are a lot of spicy foods in south Asia, right? I don't think it's amazing how spicy it is because many Australians already experienced spicy foods here. In the West, gnocchi, which has similar texture with rice cake, is very popular and I don’t think the tteokbokki is strange.”
Ms Son explained that social media and marketing tests were things that the company has used to appeal to the younger generation in Australia.
Some food offerings at the Sinjeon Tteokbokki Melbourne branch Source: Facebook
"It is important to foster curiosity about the food itself to promote it.
“People don't know how to eat or how to spend it, so there are some things that they are interested in but they can't get. When we are doing our marketing activities, we are trying to let them know how they can eat. So we can get more attention and access them more easily.”
Korean hot dogs covered with chips
Korean with stretchy cheese oozing from the meat, with a ramen noodle coating, was the first Korean street food to hit Melbourne and Sydney.
Ino Park, a staff member at restaurant Chunky Town in Melbourne, said the hot dog comes in many variants, that may confuse some people in Australia.
These Korean hot dogs are all the rage in their home country. Source: SBS Audrey Bourget
“In South Korea, we sprinkle the sugar on the hotdog, but in Australia, many people avoid it,” he said.
“But I recommend it to try and they like it. When they came back here, they ask me again to sprinkle the sugar.”
Mr Park said the deep-fried hot dog filled with sausage and cheese, and covered with chips, was the most popular item on the menu.
Chunky Town in Melbourne. Source: SBS Korean
“People who don't like sausages very much like hot dogs with mozzarella cheese. I think people are looking for this hot dog because it is fun."
Like Sinjeon Tteokbokki, Chunky Town also uses marketing and social media to draw attention.
"I think social network service is the easiest way to get closer to our consumer. These days, Instagram is getting popular and we are promoting by Instagram,” Mr Park said.
“We are giving our vouchers to the influencer. They come and eat and take pictures and post them on their social media. It’s the most important way to promote our products”
