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  • KOREAN BBQ ANYONE?

September 2024

In 2012 a catchy tune by South Korean rapper Psy hit the UK airwaves and ushered in a whole new era. Gangnam Style helped kick start a UK love affair with everything Korean.


It was the first single, performed by a South Korean act, to make it to the top of the official UK music charts. A K-boom quickly ensued – with K-pop bands like BTS (2019) and Blackpink (2022) selling out headline arena shows at the O2 and Wembley.

Soon to follow was an appreciation of Korean cinema, which quickly found a worldwide audience after the movie Parasite made history, in 2019, receiving an Oscar for Best Picture.

And then, last, but by no means least, there was Squid Game (2021); Netflix’s most popular non-English language TV show, notching up billions of streaming viewing hours and counting.

You can barely go a week, or two, without some major Korean launch, event or opening as the UK’s fascination with Korean pop culture continues to grow and, with this rise, has come an equally passionate obsession with Korean food.

Korean food was actually named the ‘number one cuisine Brits want to eat more of in 2024’, in Hello Fresh’s UK Food Trends 2023 report. Meanwhile market research leaders, Mintel, predicted spicy Korean rice cakes, known as Topokki (tteokbokki), would become one of the UK’s favourite snacks in 2024. The hashtag # tteokbokki has amassed billions of views on Tiktok. Mob kitchen, which provides recipe inspiration direct to subscriber’s inboxes, also reported its most popular recipe of 2022 was sausage gochujang rigatoni.

London has long had an established Korean restaurant scene, but it has definitely gained momentum. Celebrity chef Judy Joo launched her Korean Street Food venture Seoul Bird in London – delighting foodies with her classic Korean style fried chicken. Meanwhile leading Japanese food chain Wagamama unveiled its very own Korean-inspired menu.

Oseyo, the largest Asian retailer in the UK, also recently opened a second huge Korean hub in the prime location of Borough Market, its 12th UK branch, with another scheduled for London Bridge soon. Seoul Plaza, another Korean supermarket, is also enjoying rapid expansion.

Even footballing superstars, like Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, have helped catapult Korean culture into the UK spotlight.

Searches for Korean food on Google were up 83% between 2019 and 2021, elevating the cuisine to one of the top 10 most popular in the UK.

It is quite remarkable how UK consumers have embraced Korean culture over the last decade. And, on the subject of trends, Korean food’s success story wouldn’t be complete without giving heaps of credit to social media platforms whose viral trends have brought Korean culture to homes across the country. From Tiktok fire noodle challenges and delicious ramen recipes to the theatre of Korean BBQ and the delights of bubble tea (ironically not Korean, as it was invented in Taiwan, but a popular South Korean treat that has somehow melded with the Korean food trend). Korean cuisine has even made serious waves into UK mainstream grocery, with all the major supermarkets now stocking Korean lines.

noodles dish Sun Hee Inferno Ramen

At Sun Hee we believe the delights of Bibimbap (Rice Bowl) and Korean BBQ are too good not to share with the world.

From instant noodles, meal kits, signature Korean pastes (gochujang and doenjang), Kimchi (probably the most recognisable traditional Korean food in the world) and other store cupboard essentials, our range was designed to give home cooks everything they need to ‘Cook Korean’.

Our aim is to place classic Korean ingredients at your fingertips and share with the world just how easy it is to whip up a Korean-inspired feast. Our meal kits have been designed to offer quick, easy and satisfying Korean meals in minutes, while our udon noodle bowls make a great on-the-go option.

On the rise for several years, Korean food appears to have officially broken through. Fun, energetic, cool, trendy, with the occasional touch of the bizarre and quirky, South Korea’s growing cultural influence is here to stay and we say ‘Daebak’ (Which is Korean for ‘Awesome’) Want to learn some more trendy Korean slang? check out this link!

The Sun Hee range is available from Tesco and Morrisons.

Sun Hee – Inspiring home cooks around the world to ‘Cook Korean’.