A single line from chef Cho Eun-hee’s interview this week summed up something long-time fans of Korean culture already knew: Korean food was never chasing a trend cycle in the first place. If you have wondered why kimchi, gochujang, and Korean BBQ keep growing abroad instead of fading like a typical food fad, this is the answer, and here is exactly what it means for you right now.
What Cho Eun-hee Really Means When She Says Korean Food Doesn’t Follow Trends
Her point is simple. Korean food was not designed around trend cycles, so it cannot really “follow” one. The dishes that get called trendy today, like doenjang jjigae or grilled short ribs, are recipes households have repeated for generations.
Having covered Korean food culture for years, I keep seeing the same pattern: a dish gets “discovered” abroad, gets labeled a trend, and then quietly stays on menus long after the headlines move on. Fermentation, banchan variety, and regional recipes were fixed long before hashtags existed.
| Typical Food Trend | Korean Food Reality |
|---|---|
| Peaks in 1 to 2 years, then fades | Recipes largely unchanged for 3 or more generations |
| Built around one viral dish | Built around a full meal system: rice, soup, banchan |
| Marketing-led discovery | Household-led, then exported abroad |
Korean Culture Is Becoming a Lifestyle, Not Just a Trend
A recent survey found people increasingly describe Korean culture as a daily habit, not a passing interest. That lines up exactly with what Cho Eun-hee describes in food.
In conversations with expats and long-time fans, the shift shows up in small, practical ways: keeping gochujang in the fridge, cooking rice at the right ratio, or knowing which banchan pairs with which soup. None of that is trend behavior. It is habit.
Once Korean culture moves from curiosity to habit, food is usually the entry point that sticks the longest, since people eat several times a day and only watch a show once.
Tex-Mex Fades, Korean BBQ Booms Across the US
Several Tex-Mex chains have closed locations nationwide while Korean barbecue restaurants keep expanding. That is not a coincidence of taste alone.
Tracking restaurant openings across a few US cities, the pattern I keep seeing is this: diners want a table-side, social meal again, and Korean BBQ delivers that better than a fast-casual counter. Grill-it-yourself format, banchan refills, and set menus built for 2 to 4 people match exactly what post-pandemic diners say they miss.
Why Korean Food Demand Is Surging in the UK Right Now
UK searches and orders for Korean food have jumped as supermarket chains expand their Korean sections. This is the same slow-burn story Cho Eun-hee describes, just a few years behind the US.
I have watched UK friends go from tasting kimchi once to keeping gochugaru and doenjang stocked at home within about a year. That shift, from tasting to stocking a pantry, is the real marker of a food culture settling in rather than trending.
| Market | Signal | What It Suggests |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Tex-Mex closures, Korean BBQ openings | Format shift toward social dining |
| United Kingdom | Supermarket Korean sections expanding | Home cooking adoption rising |
| Global | Survey: culture seen as lifestyle | Long-term habit, not a fad |
How to Explore Real Korean Food, Not Just the Trend
Start with one full meal, not one viral dish. Rice, a soup, and two or three banchan teach you more about Korean food than any single trending item ever could.
| Item | Approx. Cost | Where to Find |
|---|---|---|
| Gochujang, 500g | $8 to $10 | Korean or Asian grocery |
| Doenjang, 500g | $7 to $9 | Korean or Asian grocery |
| Short-grain rice, 2kg | $6 to $8 | Most supermarkets |
For more on where this is heading, see the latest on Korean food and dining trends in 2026 and how Korean food demand in the UK keeps climbing, both echoing the same pattern Cho Eun-hee points to. For the bigger picture, 7 signs Korean culture became a global lifestyle is worth a read too.
For background on regional dishes and fermentation traditions, Wikipedia’s overview of Korean cuisine is a solid starting reference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Cho Eun-hee actually say about Korean food and trends?
Her core point is that Korean food was shaped by household habits and fermentation traditions long before global attention arrived, so it was never built to chase a trend cycle.
Is Korean BBQ replacing Tex-Mex in the US?
Not exactly replacing it, but several Tex-Mex chains have closed locations while Korean BBQ restaurants keep opening, suggesting diners are shifting toward a social, grill-it-yourself format.
Why is Korean food demand rising in the UK?
Wider supermarket availability of Korean ingredients, plus years of steady exposure through food and culture, has turned casual curiosity into regular home cooking.
What is the easiest way to start cooking Korean food at home?
Buy gochujang, doenjang, and short-grain rice first, then build one full meal, rice, soup, and a couple of banchan, rather than chasing a single viral recipe.
Korean food was never trying to be a trend, and that is exactly why it keeps outlasting one. Next time you see a “new” Korean dish going viral, look closer, it is probably decades old at home. What is the one Korean dish you keep coming back to, no matter what is trending? Share it in the comments below.
Source: Editlab, https://editlab.luvpp.com
