K-food mukbang hits 10 million views, putting local cuisine on global tourism map

Content about Korea's regional foods created by global influencers has surpassed 10 million cumulative views online, emerging as a new force driving visitors to local destinations across the country.

The Korea Tourism Organization launched a campaign around the "K-Local Food Hunters 33" project, which it ran in June, using the roughly 900 pieces of content produced to promote culinary travel to Korea. The project was designed to spotlight regional tourism through food — the factor foreign visitors most frequently cite as a key reason for considering a trip to Korea.

Thirty-three influencers from 13 countries — spanning the Chinese-speaking world, Japan, Southeast Asia and the West, with a combined following of about 29 million — split into groups and spent four nights and five days experiencing signature local dishes and major tourist attractions across the Gangwon, Jeolla and Gyeongsang regions. They introduced Korea's representative regional foods through Instagram, TikTok, Xiaohongshu and YouTube, with the roughly 900 pieces of content accumulating more than 10 million views.

Foreign influencers try Gangneung's Chodang soft tofu. [Korea Tourism Organization]

The Korea Tourism Organization plans follow-up events to convert the surge of interest in food tourism into actual visits to Korea. It will run a global online event through its integrated tourism platform VISITKOREA, drawing on content produced by the influencers. The event will be conducted in four languages, including English, Japanese and Chinese. It will also offer a range of food-tourism content — highlights from the project, region-specific features and a curated "K-Local Food 33" selection — to rekindle interest among potential visitors and deepen their desire to come to Korea for its food.

Min Byeong-seon, a division head at the Korea Tourism Organization, said the project demonstrated the global competitiveness of K-food content. "We will continue to strengthen viral promotion through follow-up global online events so that the K-food craze translates into actual tourism visits to Korea," Min said.

The single most-viewed piece of content from the project was a Vietnamese influencer's introduction of "hanwoo mungtigi" — raw, hand-torn beef — which drew 447,000 views, as the unfamiliar presentation and raw-meat food culture sparked strong curiosity among foreign audiences. A French influencer's food-challenge content featuring silkworm pupae, "seonji" (coagulated ox blood) and other unusual dishes also drew a wide response from viewers abroad.

terry@heraldcorp.com