The growing popularity of Gwangjang Market among foreign tourists in their teens to 40s can be attributed to the various tasty foods street vendors offer, such as “yukhoe”; raw meat; and “san-nakji,” a live octopus. “Generation MZ(Millennials+Gen Z)” tourists reportedly learned about exotic foods through TikTok and YouTube and decided to experience them first-hand.
Search for “live octopus” or “san-nakji” on social media like Instagram, and one will witness about 10,000 related posts: zoomed-in photos of wriggling octopuses purchased at the market and reaction videos of people eating octopuses using their clumsy chopstick skills. Overseas online users are sharing the posts for fun, writing captions like, “It’s like chewing rubber, but it’s a unique experience,” and “Would you like to have a bite?”
One of the biggest sellers at the market, “yukhoe,” raw meat, is also hogging the limelight. The dish was introduced in the English version of the Michelin guide in 2022.
The guide wrote, “The traditional dish enjoyed at the royal courts is now a daily delicacy. The umami of high-quality beef fills your mouth as you chew, followed by pears with a crisp texture and mild sweetness, and the flavor of pine nut powder and egg yolk decorates the finish.
“Foreigners like raw meat more than I expected. There is a menu that comes with yukhoe and san-nakji, and they are amazed to see the live octopus move and take photos,” said one vendor from the market.
“A famous yukhoe restaurant in the market was about to close during the pandemic, but it revived with the growing popularity of yukhoe among foreign tourists,” said Mr. Cho, a 65-year-old real estate agent.
Mentioned dishes were once some of the most hated foods among outlanders on account of unfamiliar cooking recipes and alien shapes. However, the lifestyle tourism trend and the advancement of social media lowered the entry barrier of related plates.
“In the past, architecture and natural landscapes were the objects of tourism, but now ‘lifestyle tourism,’ where people can experience the local lifestyle, is gaining ground” said Lee Hoon, a professor of Tourism at Hanyang University. Lee continued, “Because eating san-nakji or yukhoe is common for Koreans, young foreigners think it’s worth experiencing in terms of lifestyle tourism. The psychology of wanting to imitate what they’ve seen on TikTok and YouTube, as well as their admiration for Korean culture, may also have played a role.”
