Source: The Korea Herald
[SAVOR KOREA (11)] Korean cuisine makes big strides in Japan
Considering the location of the restaurant -- situated just one station away from Shinjuku, Shin-Okubo houses one of the biggest "Korea towns" in Japan -- it was surprising to see the restaurant full of happy Japanese diners at around half past eight.
Upon seeing the restaurant's sign, I presumed it must be one of many Korean restaurants in Japan that opened in recent years jumping on the bandwagon of the popularity of Korean pop culture in Japan. A hit 2003 MBC television series, "Daejanggeum (Jewel In the Palace)" is one of the flagship Korean dramas that swept Asia over the past several years.
Nearing the end of my tight first-day schedule in Tokyo, I just wanted to get a "big picture" of the recent changes in the status of Korean culinary culture for my future article, and the restaurant named "Daejanggeum" seemed to be the perfect place to hear about such changes.
Unfortunately (yet fortunately in a sense for this article), Shim Jae-dong, the 34-year-old owner of the restaurant, was preoccupied with customers packing the restuarant's 20 tables. About 80 percent of the customers were regulars, Shim said.
"Not-very-spicy Korean dishes such as 'dolsot' bibimbap (a variation of traditional bibimbap served in a very hot stone bowl, 850 yen or $9), 'haemul jijimi' (seafood and vegetable pancake, 1,500 yen) and 'samgyetang' (chicken and ginseng soup, 2,500 yen) are highly looked upon by Japanese customers," Shim told The Korea Herald.
It is hard to deny that the popularity of Korean entertainers in Japan has played a part in the success the restaurant, and Shim found no reason not to use it to attract customers. In one corner of the restaurant is a big-screen television playing episodes of the hit culinary drama set in Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Also hung on each of the walls are the pictures of actress Lee Young-ae in her Daejanggeum costume.
"We are also running a few fan communities of popular Korean entertainers including those for actor Bae Yong-joon, Song Seung-hun and pop group SG Wanabe," said Shim, a native of Seoul, who opened the restaurant in November 2004.
Certainly, not all Korean restaurants in Tokyo's "little Korea" that opened since the Korean pop culture boom -- early 2000s -- have been successful in winning the hearts of locals. In fact, quite a good portion of Korean restaurants in Shin-Okubo depend largely on Korean customers for revenue.
Shim says that one of key ingredient to Daejanggeum's success is localization in service style.
"Food items are served as original as possible to traditional Korean recipes, but in terms of service style, we are closer to Japanese style, tailored more to the requirements of an individual customer," he added.
When serving dolsot bibimbap, for example, servers at the restaurant mix the ingredients in the pot for Japanese customers who are not accustomed to the Korean-style "bibim" (mixing) culture of food.
"Some Japanese customers, mostly strangers to Korean culinary culture, prefer to eat vegetables and steamed rice separately. We kindly explain how Koreans eat bibimbap but we never force our customers to do anything against their will," he said. "We never say 'no' to any trivial request of our customers."
Namdaemun Gimbap, another popular Korean restaurant in Korea town specializing in Korean-style fast food, or "bunsik," also cites personalized service as a key to successful business in Japan.
"We allow our customers to decide the degree of spiciness for some spicy Korean dishes including "sundubujjigae" (soft tofu stew, 850 yen), said a waiter at the restaurant who wished to remain anonymous.
Korean foods in Japan are far from being cheap by standards back home, as a bowl of ordinary "jjajangmyeon" (Korean-style Chinese black bean noodles) is served at 750 yen (about 9,600 won). The busik restaurant with somewhat classy and modern decor, however, is sought after by young Japanese students until late night.
"I tried jjajangmyeon today. I have also tried Chinese jjajangmyeon before but I like this one," Miyuki Sakai, a Japanese housewife who had come all the way from Yokohama to eat Korean food with her husband Toshiro, said.
An ardent fan of Korean television dramas, Sakai both shyly and proudly showed off a two-year table calendar she had purchased that day at a nearby Korean shop, each of which featured Bae Yong-joon and Rain, respectively.
It was initially the popularity of Korean pop culture that upgraded the status of Korean cuisine in the Japanese culinary world, but with or without such cultural trends, Korean food is now making big strides rapidly in the mainstream Japanese dining experience.
"Korean food has such huge growth potential in overseas markets, as huge as the variety of cooking methods used for it," said Kim Mi-hoe, manager of Gosireh Korean restaurant.
Owned and run by Bae Yong-joon, who is affectionately called "Yonsama" by Japanese fans, the restaurant located in Tokyo's Shirogane area is said to be a "must see" place among Japanese celebrities.
Its VIP room called "Sarangchae" is fully booked for many months to come and the price of its luxury Korean courses are from 20,000 yen to 30,000 yen (up to 50,000 yen for special orders).
"It is pretty expensive, but considering the quality of food and service, I think the price is reasonable," Kazuko Yamamoto, a 56-year-old regular customer of the restaurant, said. "I first came here as a fan of Yonsama, but these days I come here to enjoy authentic Korean-style dishes more than anything else. My only complaint about Korean food is that it is much harder to see smiles on the faces of employees at Korean restaurants than other ethnic restaurants in Tokyo," said the nursing school teacher who travels to Korea one every two months
(danlee@heraldm.com)
By Lee Yong-sung/Korea Herald correspondent
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