On London’s Charing Cross Road, two supermarkets sit side by side. Both contain rows of frozen dumplings, sesame oil, soy sauce and endless varieties of noodles: instant, fresh, dried; buckwheat, arrowroot, sweet potato, barley, rice. A mostly Gen-Z clientele is stocking up on all things Korean. Opposite the stores, Seoul Plaza and Oseyo, a large queue forms outside Bunsik, a chain selling Korean corn dogs – thickly battered dough stuffed with sausage.
Korean food in the UK isn’t new. Since the 1950s, a significant Korean population has lived in New Malden, southwest London. Hyun Sang Ko, who moved to London in 1990 and now runs Miga in Hackney, east London, recalls a handful of good restaurants in the 1990s, including Kaya in Soho, where he was head chef.
But now, Korean food has moved well beyond the capital. Seoul Plaza started in 2002 in New Malden, and now boasts 18 sites. It recently opened in Reading and is planning two more by the end of the year, in Oxford and Manchester. Oseyo has 15 branches and launched in Manchester in July.
A 2023 Hello Fresh survey said Korean cuisine was the one customers most wanted to eat more of, while last year Ocado boosted its Korean range with 50 new products. Restaurants are also contributing to the popularity of K-food. In Bristol, the owners of much-loved Bokman, established in 2019, launched Dongnae on 27 September. Both Jang and Miga opened in London this summer, promising modern takes on Korean food. Sollip in Bermondsey became the first British Korean restaurant to earn a Michelin star in 2022.
In 2002, “Korean food wasn’t in demand,” says Dan Suh, Seoul Plaza’s managing director. He describes Korean cuisine as a rich tapestry using unique ingredients, from kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage so ubiquitous many Korean families have a kimchi fridge, to the three “jangs”, or sauces or pastes: gochujang (a fermented chilli paste now considered a fridge staple beyond the UK’s Korean nationals), ganjang (soy sauce) and doenjang (fermented soybean paste), which provide earthy, funky, umami elements to dishes. Korean meals tend to balance salt, sweet, sour and umami. Tangy kimchi “should always be present, to counterbalance the other flavours,” says Becky Lee Smith, a cultural ambassador who runs tours of New Malden.
The Korean cultural wave
For Lee Smith, the key driver in the rise of “K-food” is hallyu – the “Korean wave” – a rapid global spread of Korean culture, with the support of its government. In 2020, Parasite won best picture at the Oscars, and in 2021 Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched non-English language show. K-pop groups like BTS fill British arenas. Suh, meanwhile, points to an earlier wave, beginning with the 2002 football World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea, the rise of its footballers in the Premier League, car manufactures including Hyundai and Kia, and tech brands LG and Samsung. In 2012, Gangnam Style became the first Korean single to top the British charts.
Those influences spurred a street food wave in the UK, with Korean burgers and tacos popping up in towns and cities throughout the country. Korean fried chicken and barbecue, where guests typically grill meat at their tables, also grew. Restaurants began to flourish outside New Malden and central London, and British Korean food is slowly catching up with the US, where K-food is flourishing in California and New York.
A new generation of Korean restaurants
A new wave of restaurants, many run by second-generation British Koreans, is pushing boundaries and opening in areas less accustomed to Korean cuisine. Staples like bibimbap (rice bowls with vegetables, meat and a fried egg) or bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated meat) don’t always feature.
Miga in London’s Hackney calls itself a “modern Korean kitchen”. Run by Hyun Sang Ko and his adult children (their mother operates another Miga in south London), there’s a Scandi-minimalist aesthetic and the cooking is superb. Braised short rib with pear, carrot and mushroom wonderfully balances crunchy, tangy, spicy, cold kimchi with soft, sweet and salty beef and comforting, sticky rice. Jae Ko tells me his father, who he confidently describes as “arguably one of the best chefs in London,” is bringing the food Jae grew up eating to east London. The Michelin Guide has already come calling, he says.
“The reason why there’s a lot of successful Korean businesses now is the older generation has the skills and knowledge [of cooking], and now we’re bringing our knowledge of what western audiences want,” says Jae. “We didn’t expect it to be that popular, but early on we kept running out of kimchi,” which his father makes.
Jang at the Royal Exchange in central London also opened this summer. When she arrived in the UK, head chef Dana Choi found that “all Korean restaurants were selling bibimbap, bulgogi and K-barbecue. I wanted to do something more luxury. I modernised the dishes but kept the traditional taste.” Steak tartare, for example, is served with pear and lime sorbet.
Bristol’s emerging Korean dining scene
Duncan Robertson and Kyu Jeong Jeon met at Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, and are now showcasing modern Korean cooking in Bristol. They opened Bokman, which specialises in woodfired chicken stuffed with sticky rice, in 2019, and their second site, Dongnae, followed this month.
With whitewashed walls and dark wooden furniture it’s elegant, more refined than Bokman, and the dishes also push boundaries. The couple’s background is evident in their commitment to fermenting their own doenjang, gochujang and gangjang and various jeotgal, a fermented preserved seafood condiment, which are served alongside barbecued wagyu beef and a punchy homemade kimchi. “We’re trying to do something more contemporary, to show people what Korean food is like as if it was in Korea,” says Robertson. “I think there’s an appetite for it now.”
For Suh, this new wave is not a flash in the pan. “It’s a really exciting time for Korean food, and not something that’ll go away, because of the relevance of Korean culture in everyday British society.”
Where to go for Korean food
Imone, New Malden, London
“Traditional, comforting, home-cooked style dishes,” says Becky Lee Smith of this New Malden stalwart. Look out for saengseon jjim, a spicy braised fish, and the excellent pajeon, a spring onion pancake.
Chick and Beers, New Malden, London
Korean fried chicken has become a favourite, and the chicken here is brined for 24 hours for extra succulence, while the batter is incredibly crunchy. Don’t miss the signature Spam fries, says Lee Smith.
Miga, Hackney, London
A modern aesthetic combines with expert cookery from a veteran chef who’s worked in Korean and Japanese restaurants across London. The dishes may have a homely feel but are refined and delicious – don’t miss braised short ribs or the ox bone broth.
Jang, Bank, London
Chef Dana Choi spent several years cooking in some of London’s top Korean spots, even cooking for Rishi Sunak at Downing Street in 2023, before taking the helm at Jang, where fried chicken is playfully served with caviar.
Bunsik, London and Manchester
The perennially popular Bunsik, which specialises in Korean fast food, operates from six London locations and one in Manchester. Most come for the corn dogs but sweet and spicy burgers and bubble tea are also a draw.
Seoul Plaza and Oseyo, various locations
Two supermarkets that now have branches around the country from Bournemouth to Liverpool. You’ll find an array of Korean products, while some stock K-pop vinyl records and Korean skincare brands, which have emerged as world leading. Seoul Plaza on Charing Cross Road offers hot food, too.
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