Chennai’s Korean stores have the answers to all your K-drama cravings

K-drama fans in Chennai can now get a taste of South Korea with Maxim Coffee, Yakult ice cream, ramyeon, kimchi, rice crackers, gochujang, and more at Seoul Store, SeelaMart, and Sakura Fuji Mart. Customers come in to buy ingredients to make dishes like Kimbap and Tteokbokki, and even call from different parts of the State asking for products they've seen or heard about. The Hallyu wave has meant an ever increasing interest in Korean food and cosmetics.

At Seoul Store in Saidapet, the first thing that catches your eye when you walk in are shelves of Maxim coffee. The bright yellow boxes that have coffee premix sticks are a K-drama staple; Song Joong-ki as Vincenzo in the 2021 show of the same name, downs cups of Maxim coffee and memorably proclaims that he will never forget the aroma of the drink . 

“Our Indian customers here prefer the Mocha Gold Mild variant. Most of them come asking for Maxim after having seen it on K-dramas,” says Tamil, a salesperson who shows me around the store.

With the meteoric rise of the Hallyu or Korean Wave that encompasses Korean popular culture, especially over the last few years, there is a demand like never before for Korean snacks, food, and even ingredients. In Chennai’s Korean supermarkets, there is something for everyone — be it their regular Korean clientele, or those from Chennai wanting to get a taste of South Korea, one snack at a time. 

“Many of our customers from the city come wanting to buy chopsticks and practise eating ramyeon with it at home, and to stock up on Maxim Coffee and BTS Coffee. Yakult ice cream is also a favourite,” says Anu Mahesh, marketing director, Seoul Store. Chestnut Ice bars, Muscat Grape Ice bars, Corn Ice bars — ice creams that are shaped like a corn cob are new additions to their packed ice cream freezers.

With a presence in Chennai for over 15 years now, Anu says she has seen an increase in customers coming in to buy things they have seen on shows, and on YouTube videos which include ‘Mukbang’, or eating videos. “Most of them come in having researched well about what they want, and even call in from different parts of the State asking for products they have seen or heard about,” she says. 

Ramyeon variants aside, there are many interesting snacks in Korean stores in the city that people can try. At the store. Tamil holds up Nongshim shrimp and squid-flavoured crackers, cans of Bong Bong grape pulp juice, Orion rice crackers, and small bottles of Ginseng root drink, a product much advertised on K-dramas.

“Our customers see videos on how to make dishes like Kimbap, and come here to buy sticky rice, seaweed sheets, kimchi, and other ingredients. We also have frozen mackerel, cuttlefish, squid pickle, and salted shrimps — all of which are imported and used in making Korean dishes,” she says.