Hongkongers hungrier than ever for Korean cuisine thanks to TV show

Be it kimchi, chilli sauce, ginseng or noodles, demand for Korean food is surging, buoyed by the popular television drama My Love From The Star.

Food valued at more than US$350 million has been imported into the city from Korea so far this year - up 8 per cent compared with the same period last year, which saw an increase of 22 per cent over 2012.

Particularly in demand are Korean fried chicken and beer, favourites of the heroine in the hit South Korean show about an alien who falls in love with an actress.

"Hong Kong is a very important market to South Korea," Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation director general Baek Jin-seok said. "It is a hub integrating the East and the West, and it is important to the promotion of our products."

Baek was speaking during the three-day Korean K-Food Fair in Tsim Sha Tsui that opened on Thursday and is expected to have attracted more than 30,000 people by the time it closes today.

Among the attractions are free samples of famous traditional dishes such as topokki, a soft rice cake, and jumokbap, a vegetable rice ball.

"We have very high expectations for the K-Food Fair this year," Baek said.