What's cooking, Korea?

In a recent focus on the decline of home made banchan in Korea*, Korea Joongang Daily mentioned busy schedules, and the boom in HMR (Home Made Replacement) products, new online services (e.g. The Banchan, about to be purchased by food major Dongwon Group), or restaurants proposing home food (jipbap).

Korea's tradition of homemade banchan is vaning. Many new products and services indeed (20160810 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/763151485890809856)

To me, even more than the arrival of hypermarkets, the emergence of SSM or Super-SuperMarket  (dominated by the same oligopoly: Lotte Super, HomePlus Express, E-mart everyday) accelerated changes in HMR variety and packaging, particularly when it comes to targeting specific demographics, like single households. And as all the major producers seeked for differenciation, the HMR offer evolved from classic dishes to more creative recipes. 

Yet that creativity has yet to emerge for banchan in the Korean distribution, even online.

If theBanchan is more a food market before than a banchan specialist, it does offer a wide range of banchan, but without revisiting the classics. Furthermore, big food groups taking over this kind of potentially disruptive players doesn't bode well for diversity in the future.

I'm less worried about fewer Koreans preparing their own banchan - a logical trend - than about Korean palates being exposed to fewer kinds of banchan. And over the past few years, the decline in diversity for side dishes offered in Korea's mom and pop restaurants has been very spectacular. If it's linked to their struggle to stay in business in these times of crisis, old customer habits don't help: many remain reluctant to pay a fair price for Korean food (yet ready to pay way too much for mediocre Foreign food). 

The good news is that Korea, as usual experiencing societal changes at bballi bballi speed, seems to be rediscovering cooking way sooner than other nations. And not just young girls asking family recipes from their halmoni: people of all ages opening creative eateries, granddads venturing into the kitchen, food becoming a key driver in the startup ecosystem...

So be not afraid, Korea, and keep surprising us!

Seoul Village 2016
Welcome to our Korean Errlines! Follow Seoul Village on Facebook and Twitter

Add this page to your favorites
.
* "Rise of pre-made banchan may herald end of an era: Busy schedules deal blow to culture of Korea’s quintessential side dishes" (KJD 20160810)

Carrefour Junggye

Seoul - Nowon-gu - Junggye - Carrefour Junggye

Photo : "Carrefour du developpement" (Copyright Stephane MOT 2004)

The World's #2 retailer decided to leave Korea in 2006. Carrefour was eventually starting to earn something (and to export varieties of fresh products from small to medium sized Korean producers for its stores in France), but it just couldn't replicate its usual business model : you are not allowed to make purchases at the group level and thus make a difference at the logistics level. Even Wal-Mart failed. Price killers do exist though : you always find ways of crushing producers.

I'm not worrying for Carrefour. They got more than they could dream of from E.Land, who launched a weird mallish concept called Homever late last year.

It's just that you don't find big juici Nashi pears in their Paris store anymore. And Homever's bookstore is less fun to watch : each time I passed by, tens of kids would be sitting everywhere (even in shopping carts - see pix), reading books and not often of the comics / manga kind.

20070622