Why is there no Food Channel in Korea

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Korea is a country of foodies. All day most conversations revolve around food. I am sitting with my mother watching television on Chuseok morning and as we flip through the channels I see shows for food, cooking, housewares, singing and dancing, and documentaries about food. Last night at dinner I listened to my mother discuss with her friends about the prices of food and the history behind a local farm.

Koreans are a people that like variety. This is why, according to Jia Choi, why cruise ships have never been popular with Koreans because they don’t like being only on a ship. They want to get out and do lots of different activities. If they travel they really want to travel.

I think this is why Food shows haven’t worked in Korea. Olive has had a go of it for a while and they are trying to start up again. I don’t think it will work because they are competing with network channels like KBS and MBC. It is hard to get original food content all the time. Now if they could only get western chef shows. I think that would stand out and you would have people like me that used to watch the food network all the time growing up tuning in.

Dan

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About the Author

Daniel

Daniel Gray is a Korean adoptee that returned to Korean in 2005 because he wanted to try and find his birth mother and to learn about Korean culture. He started a restaurant review blog in 2007, www.seouleats.com, that became a local and international hit. He and his blog has been featured in the New York Times, Monocle Magazine, The Kimchi Chronicles, Bizarre Foods, Rudy Maxa, Olive Magazine, Euronews and much more. He now is a partner at O’ngo Food Communications (www.ongofood.com), which is a culinary tourism and consulting company that offers Korean cooking classes and restaurant tours to travelers. Their food tours and cooking classes are ranked as one of the top attractions in Seoul according to tripadvisor.