Buldak Mac & Cheese. Photo courtesy of Samyang Foods
The way Korean food spreads overseas is changing. Beyond introducing traditional dishes such as kimchi and bulgogi through Korean restaurants and exporting processed goods like instant noodles and dumplings, the market is now widening into a form that blends distinctly Korean flavors into local cuisine.
Samyang Foods (003230) plans to begin selling two varieties of Buldak Mac and Cheese in Canada and Mexico from late this year, industry sources said on the 24th. The products are currently sold exclusively at Walmart in the United States. The company also plans to expand into other distribution channels. Launched this summer, Buldak Mac and Cheese was developed in partnership with a local food manufacturer and combines Samyang’s spicy buldak sauce with mac and cheese, a staple of American home cooking.
Overseas restaurant chains are also rolling out menu items built around buldak sauce. Panda Express, the U.S. restaurant chain, expanded its buldak collaboration item, Dynamite Sweet and Sour Chicken, nationwide in March after selling it in limited regions last year. Wagamama, the British restaurant chain, launched Buldak Fire Wings and other items using the sauce in June. Sauce exports totaled $286.89 million (about 387.6 billion won) from January to August, according to the Korea International Trade Association, with other sauces, a category that includes buldak sauce, accounting for the largest share at $166.71 million.
Gochujang is drawing attention from food manufacturers and restaurant operators abroad as well. Just Salad, the U.S. salad chain, launched a Gochujang Chicken Market Plate and a Gochujang Chicken Wrap as summer seasonal items in June. Tesco, the British retailer, introduced a Korean Style Spicy Gochujang Chicken Sandwich, while Marks & Spencer released Gochujang Mayo, a blend of gochujang and mayonnaise. McDonald’s plans to offer menu items using a gochujang butter sauce developed by McDonald’s Korea in 13 Asian countries.
The number of new gochujang-related products launched in the United States last year rose 120% from a year earlier, according to Kerry Group, the global taste and nutrition company. Innova Market Insights, the global food and beverage market research firm, said in a report last September that 47% of gochujang-related product launches worldwide came from outside South Korea. Gochujang exports reached $46.01 million (about 62.2 billion won) from January to August, up 10.1% from the same period last year, according to the Korea International Trade Association.
Kimchi is likewise moving beyond its role as a side dish and being used as an ingredient to deepen the flavor of local foods. Daesang’s O’Food launched two varieties of kimchi paste that can be spread on bread, sandwiches and biscuits. Vadasz, the British pickle and fermented foods brand, sells a kimchi ketchup. Recipes pairing kimchi with local dishes are also spreading, including the Kimchi Bloody Mary, made by mixing kimchi with vodka, as well as kimchi pasta and kimchi hummus.
Some companies are turning “Korean style” itself into a flavor category. Doritos and Lay’s, the global snack brands owned by PepsiCo, released Korean Style BBQ and Korean Style Fried Chicken flavors, respectively. Shake Shack, the global burger chain, introduced K-Shack Fried Chicken Bites and a K-Shack Spicy Caramel Shake in January. Maggi, the Nestlé food brand, launched three instant noodle products inspired by Korean flavors in June: Gochujang Beef, Kimchi Chicken and Spicy Cheese.
Food industry officials see this as K-food’s globalization expanding from finished-product exports into the export of flavor. Behind the shift, analysts say, is a sharp rise in awareness of Korean cuisine in overseas markets. Awareness of Korean food stood at 68.6%, up 2.9 percentage points from a year earlier and the highest since the survey began, according to the 2025 Overseas Korean Food Consumer Survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute. Favorability toward Korean food and intent to eat it in the future also hit record highs of 71.4% and 80.6%, respectively.
“In the past, K-food’s overseas push focused on introducing Korean dishes themselves, such as kimchi, or exporting finished products made in Korea, but recently it has been evolving toward grafting Korean flavors such as gochujang and buldak sauce onto local foods,” an industry official said. “Local consumers can now experience K-food naturally in their everyday diets without visiting a Korean restaurant or buying Korean food.” The official added, “As collaboration with local companies expands, K-food will be able to establish itself as a flavor and a food culture beyond the category of Korean cuisine.”
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Dining and Cooking