Why Korean Food Is Taking Over the UK
Something significant has shifted in British food culture. Korean cuisine — once confined to a handful of specialist restaurants in London's New Malden — is now ranked among the UK's top 10 cuisines and sits third in London. Google searches for Korean food surged 83% between 2019 and 2021, and the numbers have only kept climbing since. TikTok videos tagged #KoreanFood have exceeded 709,000, with the #Koreancorndog tag alone accumulating 68.7 million views.
The driving force is unmistakable: the Hallyu wave — Korea's global cultural boom — has swept through music, drama, film, and fashion, and food has followed. K-dramas normalise kimchi stew and tteokbokki as everyday comfort food. Films like Parasite introduced international audiences to dishes they'd never heard of. K-pop collaborations spike interest in Korean snacks seasonally. According to Bidfood's 2026 trend survey of 2,000 UK adults, 51% say they're likely to try Korean food within the next two years — rising to 75% among 30–39 year olds.
"Korean cuisine is ascendant across global restaurant and retail, driven by its unique and memorable flavour identity." — The Food Institute, 2025
The Best Korean Dishes to Try at UK Food Markets
This is where it gets exciting. Korean food translates brilliantly to the street food and food market format — bold, fast, visual, and designed for sharing. Here are the five dishes you should seek out:
Korean Fried Chicken (KFC)
Forget what you know about fried chicken. The Korean version is double-fried for a shattering crispiness that stays crunchy far longer than its Western counterpart, then glazed in a sweet-spicy-sticky gochujang sauce that's completely addictive. It's the most viral Korean dish on social media and one of the UK street food scene's fastest-growing offerings — from food trucks at Leeds markets to dedicated stalls at London food halls.
Bibimbap
The words translate simply as 'mixed rice' but the dish is anything but simple. A bowl of warm rice topped with individually seasoned vegetables — spinach, carrots, bean sprouts, mushrooms — alongside a protein, a fried egg, and a spoonful of gochujang to stir through. It's one of the most nutritionally complete single-dish meals you can find at a food market, and CNN has ranked it among the world's 50 most delicious foods. The colour alone stops people in their tracks.
Tteokbokki
Spicy rice cakes have been a Korean street food staple for centuries and Mintel predicts they're about to go fully mainstream in the UK. Chewy, cylindrical rice cakes cooked in a fiery, sweet gochujang broth — they're moreish in a way that's difficult to explain until you've tried them. The current UK trend is cheese-enhanced tteokbokki, where the heat and creaminess collide spectacularly. Look for this at any Korean-influenced food stall and you'll understand immediately why it's generated millions of views.
Bulgogi
Bulgogi — literally 'fire meat' — is thinly sliced beef (or pork, or chicken) marinated overnight in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and grated pear or apple, which naturally tenderises the meat and adds a subtle sweetness. It's grilled or stir-fried at high heat and typically served with rice, lettuce wraps, and banchan. Simple, deeply flavoured, and endlessly satisfying. It's the dish that got 42% of UK Korean food converts interested in traditional Korean cooking.
Mandu and Kimbap
Two grab-and-go essentials. Mandu are Korean dumplings — steamed, fried, or boiled, filled with pork, kimchi, tofu, or vegetables, and served with a dipping sauce. Kimbap are seaweed-wrapped rice rolls that look like sushi but taste entirely different — the fillings are seasoned with sesame oil rather than vinegar, giving them a nutty, savoury depth. Both are perfect market bites: portable, affordable, and completely satisfying.
Where to Find Korean Food at UK Food Markets
Korean food is now present at food markets across the UK — from dedicated Korean vendors to fusion stalls incorporating K-food elements. Here's where to look:
London
Camden Market remains the most reliable destination for Korean street food in London, with multiple Korean and Korean-fusion vendors serving KFC, bibimbap, tteokbokki, and bao alongside the canal. Borough Market's Market Kitchen section features Korean-influenced dishes from various vendors. For a concentrated Korean experience, Boxhall City near Liverpool Street brings together 14 kitchens including Korean-adjacent vendors in a buzzing food hall setting. Market Place venues in Peckham, Harrow, and Vauxhall also feature diverse Asian and Korean food options.
Edinburgh
Stockbridge Market on Sundays is the place to start — artisan food producers and street food vendors including Asian cuisine specialists. Harajuku Kitchen — which began life as a Stockbridge Market stall — has become one of Edinburgh's most praised Korean dining spots, serving ramen, Korean fried chicken, and kimchi-led dishes. During the Edinburgh Fringe (late July to August), the city's food festival scene dramatically expands to include a wide range of street food vendors.
Bristol & Beyond
St Nicholas Market in Bristol is the South West's most vibrant international street food destination. Korean food has been growing steadily within its mix of global cuisines. Manchester's annual Food and Drink Festival regularly features Korean and Asian street food vendors. UK-wide, dedicated Korean restaurant groups including WooJung and Jinjuu are expanding their reach, and Korean BBQ specialists are increasingly appearing in food market and festival formats.
Use the Food Marketplace directory to find food markets near you and discover which Korean and Asian food vendors are trading this weekend.
