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Korean food trends 2026: what's hot now
Trends in Korea rise and fall within months. This page sticks to what published data and reporting show, and links to a guide for each.
Dujjonku (Dubai chewy cookie) took off in late 2025 as a reinvention of the 2024 Dubai-chocolate craze (Asia News Network; Korea Times, Jan 2026).
Korea Tourism Organization card data (Jan–Jul 2025): foreign visitors' spending grew fastest on tteok & hangwa (+76.9%), noodles & dumplings (+55.2%), gamjatang (+44%), ice cream (+35%) and waffles/croffles (+25.5%); convenience stores logged about 13 million transactions.
Gimbap became a global hit after Korean-made frozen kimbap sold out at Trader Joe's in 2023 (Korea JoongAng Daily); Korean ramyeon exports have neared US$2 billion a year, led by Buldak.
Bread pilgrimages — queues at London Bagel Museum, Seongsu salt-bread shops and Daejeon's Sungsimdang — keep growing (Korea Times, Oct 2025), while tanghulu has faded since 2024.
Trending now
Dubai Chewy Cookie (Dujjonku)What is the Dubai chewy cookie (dujjonku, 두쫀쿠)? Pistachio cream and kataifi wrapped in cocoa-dusted marshmallo…
Frozen KimbapWhy frozen kimbap (gimbap) sold out in the US, how to microwave it, and where to eat fresh kimbap in Korea — m…Gimbap vs KimbapGimbap explained: rice and fillings rolled in seaweed with sesame oil — not sushi. Mayak gimbap at Gwangjang M…
Buldak Fire NoodlesBuldak (fire noodles) explained: Samyang's stir-fried spicy chicken ramyeon, its flavours (carbonara, cheese, …Korean BakeriesKorea's bread craze: salt bread (sogeum-ppang), London Bagel Museum queues in Anguk and Jeju, Seongsu salt-bre…Rising with visitors
Tteok, Hangwa & YakgwaKorean traditional sweets explained: tteok (rice cakes like injeolmi and songpyeon), hangwa cookies and yakgwa…
ManduMandu explained: Korean dumplings — steamed (jjin), pan-fried (gun), king-size wang-mandu, kimchi mandu and du…
Gamjatang (Pork Bone Soup)Gamjatang explained: a spicy stew of pork spine, potatoes, perilla seeds and greens — one of the fastest-risin…
CroffleCroffle explained: croissant dough pressed in a waffle iron, topped with ice cream, cream or syrup — a Korean …Korean convenience store food guideWhat to eat at a Korean convenience store (pyeonuijeom): triangle gimbap, cup ramyeon cooked at the in-store m…Past peaks
Tanghulu in KoreaTanghulu explained: fruit skewers coated in hard sugar glass. How the Chinese snack went viral in Korea in 202…
Malatang in KoreaMalatang explained: the Sichuan numbing-spicy soup that became a favourite of Korean teens and 20-somethings. …FAQ
What Korean food is trending in 2026?
Dubai chewy cookies, bakery pilgrimages, gimbap and Buldak globally, and among visitors, traditional tteok, dumplings and gamjatang.
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