Korean wave refers to the global popularity of South Korea’s cultural economy exporting pop culture, entertainment, music, TV dramas and movies. It is a collective term used to refer to the phenomenal growth of Korean culture and popular culture encompassing everything from music, movies, drama to online games and Korean cuisine just to name a few. 

So, it is not a surprise if the number of Korean Wave fans worldwide has surpassed 150 million. The Korea Foundation on March 3 said in a report on the Korean Wave's popularity abroad that the number of Hallyu fans worldwide at the end of last year was 156.6 million in 116 countries.

The figure was 29% higher than 121.51 million in 2020 and a 17-fold jump from 9.26 million cited by the inaugural survey in 2012.

However, Korean Wave is not only about pop culture and entertainment but Korean Food also attracts many people in the world especially Indonesia. According to the Statista in 2019, that year, around 59.8 percent of respondents stated Korean food was very popular in Indonesia. It showed that the interests of Korean food in Indonesia have risen in line with the popularity of Korean Pop and Korean Drama.

In addition to that, a study by Korea Science showed that Indonesian consumers had a strong preference for ramyeon, noodles, snacks and kimchi among Korean foods. The result of this study implies that marketers in Korea food companies need to consider the consumers preference for Korean food and Korean culture when they build proper strategies for exporting Korean foods to Indonesia.

Korean food is famed for its spiciness, but Korea was actually late to the party when it came to enjoying spicy chili peppers. Now a staple spice in Korean cooking, gochugaru is a chili powder that consists entirely of dried chili peppers that have been deseeded

If you love spicy food, then Korean food is one of the countries in Asia to visit. Chili paste on the side makes the food complete. Almost every dish in South Korea contains Gochujang, which is essentially a savory, spicy, and pungent fermented Korean condiment made from red chili. 

Spice for Koreans means more than just hot stuff. It means all plants, seeds, and parts that possess aromatic and other exotic flavors adding excitement to food. Essentially, most Korean foods are not entirely hot and peppery. Traditional Korean cuisine combines a fine blend of peppers with other spices and salt to create the spiciness that most people taste. 

Furthermore, Koreans also view spices as medicine and use many of them for their health benefits. Kimchi, Kongnamul Guk, Doenjang paste and Gochujang, all of them are sour and spicy food. 

Meanwhile, the Gastronomy of Korean Food refers to the interrelationship between food and the cultural tradition of a group of people or civilizations. A considerable part of the spiciness of Korean foods comes from other extraneous factors besides the spice ingredients. 

Some schools of thought propose evolutionary biology to explain that the Koreans have a specific spice palette with an extreme affinity for spicy foods. Other schools of thought assert that the Koreans consider spices as mood enhancers and incorporate lots of spices into their cuisine to help the locals deal with stress. Some others think it’s a game of perception over taste buds.

So here are Korean foods and spices/condiments of fermented and non fermented. There are Doenjang, Ganjang, Gochujang, Jeotgal and Vinegar for Fermented condiments. Meanwhile, for non condiments there are red pepper, black pepper, Chinesis, Garlic, Onions, Mustard and Corfodila. 

So, why is Korean Food is almost spicy? 

Korean food traditionally centers around family and togetherness. Not only that, but Korean food is seen as medicine. Koreans believe that health starts with what you eat. They incorporate better health and a robust immune system in their cooking methods. Especially to support healthy metabolism, blood pressure and weight. 

If you want to bump up your metabolism, you can consume these ingredients like HVP ONS26, Dehydrated White Onion, Codfish Powder, 220-11-30, Capsicum Oleoresin, Garlic Oil Encapsulated, Laver Fla 56202, and shitake fla 11036.