Over the weekend before her 30th birthday, Mirina Landry was “longing for some kind of new experience” but didn’t have time to travel far. So she and her partner drove the hour from Topeka to Overland Park, Kansas, to sample Korean corn dogs, breaded meat or cheese on a stick, often sprinkled with sugar, ramen noodles, puffed rice, or an arms race every increasing number of ingredients. and sauces
“I’ve been seeing a lot of things on social media with hot dogs and mozzarella, but also different flavors like Hot Cheetos and things like that. Everything looks so good,” said Landry, who described herself as “white as can be,” after her visit to K-Street Hotdog, where she opted for one made with mozzarella cheese and encrusted with cubes. of potato chips
Korean corn dogs were one of the biggest food trends in 2021. That summer, freshly vaccinated and guided by TikTok and Instagram, people waited in hour-deep lines at outposts like Two Hands or Oh K-Dog NYC in New York. Buoyed by the growing popularity of Korean culture (K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, and K-food), dubbed the Korean Wave or “Hallyu,” the photogenically crunchy, gooey, portable snack gained a wave of popularity. between influencers and trend-chasing diners.
But even as the hype has waned in various coastal hot spots like New York and Los Angeles, the Korean corn dog has maintained, and even grown, its following as franchises like Two Hands and Ssong’s Hotdog expand their presence in the heartland of the United States. Joined. Hundreds are slated to open in Arkansas, Kansas, Texas and Missouri, in cities not known as hubs for Asian food, a testament to the enduring popularity of Korean food and its adoption by an expanding American palate.
From post-war processed candy to food trend
Unlike American corn dogs, Korean corn dogs (called hot dogs in Korea) use a wheat batter or mochi (rice flour) instead of cornmeal, resulting in a chewier texture. They are made from a beef hot dog or a mozzarella stick or half of each, or fish cake, which was the original Korean version, the culmination of both early 20th century Japanese occupation and the presence of the American troops after World War II. Second war.
Processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages, and hams were known to Koreans in postwar South Korea due to the American military presence.
Jooyeon Rhee, Penn State Institute for Korean Studies
“Processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages, and hams were familiar to Koreans in post-war South Korea due to the US military presence, but were primarily used as ingredients for military stew (budae jjigae). What Koreans call ‘hot dogs’ are actually corn dogs that became a popular street food since the mid-1970s,” said Jooyeon Rhee, associate professor and director of Penn State’s Institute for Korean Studies.
In the 1970s, South Korea was a low-income country under a military dictatorship, and meat like pork or beef was hard to come by. So the original corn dogs were a mixture of flour and fish, a derivative of the Japanese fish cake. “kamaboko.”
“The sausages, rather than the fried dough, were the main reason for the popularity of Korean corn dogs among schoolchildren. Imagine how utterly disappointed school kids were when the sausages inside their corn dogs were much smaller than normal on some days. Or even worse, there were no sausages at all, which happened from time to time: you couldn’t tell if there was one unless you dug deep enough to see the stick,” Rhee said, speaking from personal experience.
“Corn dogs were a thing of the past when Koreans hadn’t yet been exposed to Western foods, but they were revived through nostalgic marketing about a decade ago. Several corn dog franchises have sprung up and major food companies now produce and export packaged corn dogs to many countries,” he added.
‘We literally don’t have any Korean customers’: How K-dog’s popularity grew in the US
Food industry veterans say that even with the rapidity of social media phenomena, trends may take a little longer to travel nationally, but they may have a longer shelf life.
“Kansas is a little different, the trends are much slower. Things like that took off in the bigger cities much earlier, even frozen yogurt. [Korean chains like Red Mango] it took off in big states, died out and then spread to smaller states,” said David Ahn, 43, an official at the company that owns K Street Hot Dog.
A lot of young people are interested in things like this. Lots of Latinas, Caucasians and African Americans too. Especially for K-pop.
David Ahn
Ahn’s family business already owned a Korean grocery store, a bakery, and three Korean fried chicken restaurants in the Kansas City area, when they considered adding to their Korean culinary offerings. In 2021, they opened a Ssong franchise, which was initially very successful and then stagnated. After severing ties with the chain, the Ahns changed their name to K-Street Hotdog earlier this year, using their own recipes and building the menu with sides like the popular tornado fries and hotteok, a cinnamon-spiked dessert pancake. caramelized and stuffed with sesame.
“Many of the larger cities are more dependent on Korean customers, and there are only a limited number of Koreans. We target Caucasians and African Americans. Because we literally don’t have any Korean customers… maybe 5%, if that’s it,” said Ahn, who immigrated from South Korea when he was 12 years old. “A lot of young people are interested in things like this. Lots of Latinas, Caucasians and African Americans too. Mainly because of K-pop.”
Robin Rhee, president of Asian food distributor Rhee Bros, has been watching the popularity of Korean food grow for the past two decades, noting that food trends for ethnic food in the United States may take devious turns.
“We see a lot of growth in Korean hot dogs and general Korean food and snacks between Sioux City and Kansas City. They are university towns. Asian immigrants are moving to the central United States in search of work: Chinese, Cambodian, Hmong. Korean food is not only popular among white Americans but also other Asian ethnicities because they listen to Korean music and watch dramas. The colleges Asian Americans attend now aren’t just UCLA or NYU; the same is the case with Asian international students, and they are also bringing their friends to attend,” he said.
About three years ago, distributors began importing Korean corn dogs into the US around the same time the franchises were opening. The trend speaks to “the growing popularity of Korean food,” he added.
Last Saturday, Kristy Fitzpatrick, 30, and two of her friends from St. Louis were in Kansas City for a Taylor Swift concert and stopped by the K-Street Hotdog. She and one of her friends had tried Korean corn dogs in Phoenix at a local H-Mart, and that had piqued the other friend’s interest.
“They were great, we all loved them, it just sucks that there aren’t stores like that in St. Louis,” he said.
For now.
