Globalization of Korean Cuisine - Asia-Pacific Business and ...

CoVEr
STory
Globalization
of Korean Cuisine:
The Rising Soft Power of Korea
By Eun young Chough
Lately, the Korean food industry has been spreading
its wings within the international food market.
According to a research document provided
by Korea’s ministry of Knowledge
economy in 2008, among the 1,523 Korean
food-based franchise operations, 15.9 percent
had opened at least one branch outside
Korea. of the 15.9 percent total, fast
food accounted for 24 percent and non-fast
food restaurants, including traditional Korean
food restaurants, accounted for 12.6
percent. Amongst the backdrop of these
developments, the Korea Trade-investment
Promotional Agency (KoTrA) and the ministry
of Knowledge economy announced
that they will assist ten Korean franchise
companies to promote and establish their
branches abroad in an attempt to increase
Korea’s ‘soft power.’ Assistance services
to be provided include foreign market research,
offering legal and accounting information
and finding local business partners
for Korean franchise companies.
many Korean food companies are considering
or already entering the Chinese
restaurant industry in particular, getting
support from the Korean culture wave, or
Hallyu, which has been spreading all across
Asia and beyond. AlixPartners, a global business
advisory firm, reported that Chinese
consumers are spending only 22 percent of
their total food expenditure in restaurants,
which is small in comparison to uS consumers,
as revealed in a recently conducted
study. However, as the total income of Chinese
has been increasing, the average spending
in restaurants showed an increase of 10
percent in 2010. in 2009, the Chinese restaurant
industry grew by about 11 percent
to approximately 200 billion uS dollars, and
the study states that the Chinese restaurant
industry will be undergoing continual increased
activity in the near future.
With more Korean franchise companies
dipping their toes in the foreign market,
Kim Soon-Jin, the Ceo of nolboo, also visions
nolboo nBg as a comprehensive global
restaurant corporation. Driven by her ambition,
nolboo nBg emerged from the local
Korean restaurant industry and entered the
American and malaysian markets in 1992.
nolboo nBg then entered the Chinese market
via direct foreign investment.
in 2006, nolboo nBg established its second
corporate body in China and opened its
first China branch in Beijing. in addition to
China, the group also entered the Singapore
market, contributing to the growing craze
for Korean cuisine in these countries.
“When entering a foreign market, the
company needs to have a discerning eye
that can look beyond long-term goals,” said
Kim. “The company has to go through field
CoVEr
STory
research and look closely into the ‘details.’
if you want to gradually succeed, your business
has to figure out dining habits of its future
customers and their culture.”
The company’s yaksun Kimchi (cabbage
that has been ripened with herbs, Japanese
apricots and apples) is a representative
example of these endeavors. The dish
received lifestyles of Health and Sustainability
(loHAS) recognition in 2009, a first
in the Korean food service industry. yaksun
kimchi is known to contain two times more
lactobacillus than both the common kimchi
and yogurt. Because of its popularity
in many foreign markets, yaksun Kimchi
is now considered to have become a global
cuisine favored by young and old, from Asia
to europe and the Americas.
“We made changes and improved the
common traditional kimchi to make it more
foreigner-friendly. in hot regions, it is difficult
to have or make kimchi since the salted
fish ingredient attracts flies. Also, foreigners
feel uncomfortable when they have red pepper
between their teeth after eating kimchi.
using chopsticks is another problematic
issue for them.” Thus, changes were made
by using red pepper blended more than the
common kimchi and less salted fish.
However, nolboo’s proficiency for success
in this field was not built in a day.
Twenty-four years ago, before starting her
own bossam (steamed pork) Korean restaurant
business, Kim went through bitter
times, watching her restaurant close and
reopen multiple times due to low profit.
When her earlier restaurant closed, she
opened a new 15 square meter baby octopus
restaurant in Shillimdong, called golmokjip.
every morning, she went to the
fish market, buying the freshest ingredients
for customers, but still her business
KIM SOON-jIN | Ceo oF nolBoo nBg (nolboo global)
By eun young CHougH
‘The guru of the Korean franchise business,’ or ‘A
legend of success’ are examples of how people describe
the Ceo of nolboo nBg, Kim Soon-Jin. From her start as
an owner of a small, five square meter-sized restaurant
serving bossam (meaning ‘steamed pork’ in Korean) 24
years ago, Kim now oversees a total of more than 680
nolboo global branches, with locations in Singapore,
Beijing, and Thailand. She manages
over 6,500 employees and 650 million
dollars worth of sales profit. Kim
is currently expanding the company
throughout the world, promoting the
group’s favorite menus — bossam
and nolboo hangari galbi (a cuisine
of short ribs marinated in a jar) —
and in doing so, supporting the
globalization and standardization
of Korean cuisine.
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