"Tailoring K-food (food) to export by region feels fake. Overseas consumers want to feel in K-food that they are buying and eating exactly what people in Korea actually buy and eat." British food and travel journalist Graham Holliday said this about K-food, which represents K-consumer goods. He formed ties with Korea in 1996 while teaching English in Iksan, North Jeolla. Since then, he has contributed food-related pieces to major media outlets such as the Guardian, Time, the BBC, CNN, and The New York Times (NYT), and in 2017 published a book on Korea's food culture, "Eating Korea: a blue-eyed gourmet tastes the real Korea." Exports of K-food have surged recently. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in the first half of 2026, exports of K-food+ (plus), which combines agri-food and the agro-industry, reached $7.05 billion, up 4.1% from a year earlier, marking the highest first-half performance on record. Of that, agri-food exports were $5.38 billion, a 5.0% increase. In particular, exports to Europe grew 17.9%, showing one of the strongest growth rates among export regions.
To support this growth, on Jun. 24 the government held the second public-private joint meeting on export expansion and unveiled plans to ease overseas certification barriers and upgrade distribution platforms. It will increase the number of items for which overseas test and certification documents can be issued domestically from the current 212 to 500 by 2028, and raise the reimbursement ratio when certification is not obtained from 50% to 70%. It will also expand support for halal certification of K-consumer goods such as cosmetics and household products, and foster 10 "national K-cross-border e-commerce platforms" by 2030 to broaden the foundation for convergence exports of distribution and K-consumer goods. However, some note that branding strategies to win consumer trust must underpin efforts to secure overseas certifications and distribution networks. Holliday assessed that the force behind K-food's growth was not government-led campaigns but the cultural awareness that naturally accumulated via K-content and the authenticity of packaging and ingredients that kept things distinctly Korean. He then pointed to exporting truly good ingredients, not marketing, as the next task. The following is a Q&A.
—When you first came to Korea, it was long before K-food became known worldwide. What has changed between then and now?
"There have been so many changes that it's hard to list them all. As I remember, in 1996 the U.K. had one Korean restaurant in Birmingham, one in central London, and a "Koreatown" in New Malden on the outskirts of London. Almost 100% of the customers there were Korean. Moving into 2026, that atmosphere has completely changed. Now Korean customers are the minority, you can buy basic Korean ingredients at most supermarkets in the U.K., and in most cities and towns there is some kind of Korean restaurant."
"Key catalysts driving this change include the growth of the internet, the 2002 World Cup, and the spread of Korean-made cameras, mobile phones, and computers. Then came music, TV programs, and film. Along with all of this came a general cultural interest in Korea, and that culture included food. Before coming to Iksan in 1996, I bought a Samsung film camera in the U.K. A Korean friend in the U.K. told me Korean products were much cheaper there than in Korea. Even then, I think that was part of building 'global visibility.' It's been a long journey with many factors at play, but overall growth in 'cultural awareness' was probably the biggest factor."
—Why did it take longer for Korean food to establish itself internationally compared with Japanese or Thai food?
"Since the mid-1990s, food and travel media have exploded. Korea naturally had to be part of that tide. Roughly speaking, it was the next 'new discovery.' But for some reason, Korean food drew attention much later than other Asian cuisines. It's not surprising at all that Korean food has now become popular in the West. Korean food is truly excellent."
—Which parts of K-food culture are still not communicated well overseas, and which parts resonate better than expected?
"It's not right to judge K-food by how it is conveyed. I think Koreans now need to move beyond debating in what foreign context K-food should be delivered. K-food is excellent on its own. So if people abroad come to like K-food, that's great, and if not, it's not a big problem. Good food spreads because it is good. What I reminisce about is sitting under a pojangmacha, downing cold soju with live octopus and sea squirt as snacks, a brazier sizzling nearby, and the ajumma taking orders in a lively, boisterous atmosphere. That's something you can't recreate anywhere else. It's disheartening that cities are regulating and eliminating such culture in the name of neatness. If Korea leans more toward preserving this culture, K-food's influence might also grow."
—Between the role of K-pop and K-drama in K-food's global rise and the part that succeeded on the strength of the food itself, which carries more weight for you?
"Clearly, all factors played a role. I think TV programs, pop music, and beauty products had a much bigger impact than government-led campaigns. I had chances to see such government-led campaigns in the past, and at times they seemed, slightly, always a bit off track. K-food can naturally move anywhere on the current of popular culture. No one likes being force-fed. A good example is the Kogi Korean taco truck launched by chef Roy Choi in Los Angeles (LA) in 2008."
"He started the business with just one social media (SNS) account, and it had a bigger impact on boosting K-food's popularity outside Korea than several government campaigns that spent millions of dollars combined." Roy Choi is a Korean American chef who gained popularity in late 2008 in LA with "Korean tacos" that fused Korean-style barbecue, such as bulgogi and galbi, with Mexico's tacos. The method of sharing the truck's location in real time via social media became a sensation and is credited with sparking a nationwide food truck boom in the United States. In 2010, he was named one of Food & Wine's "Best New Chefs," and later pursued projects such as Locol, which supplies healthy fast food in low-income neighborhoods.
—How does the way K-food is received differ across regions worldwide?
"I experienced K-food in Europe and Vietnam. In Europe, K-food is still regarded as a bit of a curiosity, and some perceive it as health food. In Vietnam, Korean culture is very popular, so I've seen K-food closely tied to that and receive a good response. I lived in Vietnam for almost 10 years, and when I moved to Hanoi in 1997 there were only two Korean restaurants, but now there are far more."
—Which K-foods or K-ingredients do you think are still undervalued but have the potential to spread?
"The truly good ones—the K-foods or K-ingredients with real vitality, not just trends—spread naturally. We know from experience that forcing things rarely works. If I had to pick, I'd like to see people outside Korea making meju, jang, and sesame oil. Meju is like the soul of K-food, but I don't think stories about meju have ever been conveyed overseas in a way that could draw people in."
—What do foreign consumers misunderstand most about K-food?
"There may be many outdated misconceptions, but if you have even a little interest in K-food now, there is a great deal of information available. However, there is one thing that is not easily explained anywhere: the regionality of K-food. It's about where and in what season something is good, how the palate of North Jeolla differs from other regions, why Gangwon is regarded as the home of noodles, and why you must try milmyeon in Busan. I lived in North Jeolla for a year, and the food there is definitely bolder. Bibimbap is on another level, and Namwon's chueotang is exceptional. I really like the regional differences in K-food and hope others learn and understand that a bit more. Export strategies would also be more effective if pursued in ways that highlight this regionality."
—How do you view the way current K-food exporters market overseas?
"Along with labeling packaging in the language of the export region, I like that it remains Korean and similar to what you'd see in Korea. The parts written in Hangeul are the same. I expect that people consuming K-food in export markets also expect such Korean elements. Dressing it up to match local characteristics feels fake. Overseas consumers want to feel they are buying and eating exactly what people in Korea actually buy and eat. And since it's also a chance to practice Hangeul, what could be better?"
—How do you think the next wave of K-food growth will arrive?
"The wave of K-food's growth arrived some time ago, the terrain is already formed, and I hope it grows organically. Ideally, it would be led by people with no particular ambition beyond cooking with love and sharing that love. Some might call me a hippie for saying that. But the best and most enduring things come from that. Of course, from a marketing standpoint, this may be an entirely different story."
—What advice would you give to Korean food corporations?
"It still feels difficult, almost impossible, to find truly good K-food abroad. In Brussels, Belgium, where I live now, you can find K-food that's decent enough, and some of it is excellent. Even so, it's different from eating in Korea in terms of environment. I think much of that difference comes from the ingredients. In the end, sending very Korean K-food overseas is the most important task. Personally, I want to see truly outstanding artisanal doenjang, ganjang, and sesame oil abroad. There are definitely consumers who welcome high-quality K-food. I'm still savoring a bottle of sesame oil made by NongHyup that I picked up in Seoul two years ago. It wasn't cheap, but the quality was well worth the price. It's time for K-food exports to take an approach of selling good-quality products at high prices in this way."
※ This article was published in the August issue of the monthly Tongsang. Search for "Monthly Tongsang" on Naver: Monthly Tongsang.