K-food gains popularity via film

[Anchor]

The popularity of Korean cuisine is growing due to the animated film 'K-Pop Demon Hunters'.

Videos imitating the main character eating whole gimbap are also trending.

Domestic food companies are quickly responding by launching related products.

This is a report by reporter Choi Ji-hyun.

[Report]

The Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters', which is based on K-Pop,

frequently shows the main characters enjoying various Korean foods like gimbap, ramen, and fish cakes.

["Ah~"]

This scene of eating uncut gimbap whole.

A challenge imitating this scene is trending on social media.

With purple hair, a yellow jacket, and uncut gimbap, it’s just like the character.

["They go to a restaurant and enjoy this really thick, milky bowl of seolleongtang."]

Not only gimbap and ramen, but they also recreate the seolleongtang eaten by the main character.

Interest in the various K-foods featured in the movie is rising.

The ramen has the character '신' reminiscent of Nongshim's Shin Ramyeon, and the snack that the main character is holding in their mouth, shrimp chips, is also recognizable.

As a result, Nongshim has decided to collaborate with Netflix to introduce co-branded products.

Starting as early as next week, they will sell limited edition products featuring characters from 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' in major countries like Korea, North America, and Europe.

[Park So-hee/Nongshim Marketing Team, Shin Ramyeon Brand Manager: "Seeing ramen appear in K-Pop Demon Hunters often reminds people of our products. We hope to achieve record sales in exports through this collaboration."]

K-food exports reached $13 billion last year, setting a new record and continuing to grow, but exports to the U.S. fell for the first time in over two years last month.

As the impact of U.S. tariffs becomes a reality, attention is focused on whether K-food, led by content, can maintain its growth trend.

This is KBS News Choi Ji-hyun.