A home away from home

One area of Beijing is gaining a reputation for 'Seoul food' thanks to its Korean population.

If you take the subway to Wudaokou station on Line 13, you'll find yourself in an area bursting with vibrant South Korean pop culture.

Billboards featuring Kim Woo-bin are displayed on the subway platform, showing the popular Korean actor advertising KFC's new product - the kimchi chicken burger.

At Tous Les Jours, a Korean bakery franchise near the subway entrance, photos show another Kim - Kim Soo-hyun, a heartthrob for many Chinese women - promoting the bakery's mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and inside, posters of Psy, the Korean pop star, are used to sell the Korean food brand Bibigo.

Mini 'global village'

Located in the northwest of the Chinese capital, Wudaokou is surrounded by some of China's top universities, including Peking, Tsinghua, and Beijing Language and Culture University. Not only is the area a hub for Chinese college students, but it's also quickly becoming a mini "global village" as an increasing number of students from different countries arrive in China.

Young Koreans account for the largest number of overseas students in Beijing, and the latest figures from the South Korean embassy show that about 63,000 Koreans are currently studying in China. As a result, many establishments in Wudaokou have Korean characteristics, including hair salons, clothing stores, restaurants, cafes, stationary and music outlets.

Korean celebrities are trendsetters, and the Korean students in Wudaokou dress with a certain sense of style.

"Their clothing and bags are chic," Xiao Na, a fan of Korean pop culture, says. She boasts that she can distinguish Koreans from Chinese on the street at a single glance. "Koreans dress differently from Chinese. Almost all the Korean girls wear makeup. Although the students' makeup looks light, it's actually very delicate. The men look refined and fresh. They don't wear heavy makeup, but they look after their skin, wearing sunscreen cream and blemish balm," the 27-year-old says.

Former Wudaokou resident Son Min-a, 28, from Seoul, said she misses the area's local food, especially chuanr (small pieces of lamb, pork, beef, or mushrooms, tofu, or even squid, grilled on skewers).

"Korean students love to hang out at street vendors or skewer bars eating chuanr, which taste best with cold beer," she says.

"After a few drinks, lots of Korean students like to go to KTV (karaoke bars). China's KTV is the best. Singing and dancing at high-end KTVs is inexpensive, but offers the best service and environment."

Besides chuanr, malatang, literally "spicy, numbing soup", is another feature of Wudaokou's cuisine favored by Korean students. Malatang is a flexible menu that allows diners to blend the ingredients to their own taste. The dish usually features a mix of tofu, vegetables, meat or fish balls stewed in a spicy hot broth in a big saucepan.

Having majored in Chinese at Gyeonggi-do Pyeongtaek University in South Korea, Son studied for two years in Beijing, Shenyang in Liaoning province, and Wuhan, Hubei province. She has now returned to Seoul, having secured a job in the Consular Office at the Chinese embassy in the city.

A growing market

"China is a growing market in South Korea. Having a good command of Chinese means better job prospects in Seoul," she says.

Many local shops use Korean celebrities to attract Chinese customers. Even a street vendor selling grilled pig's feet displays a poster of Kim Soo-hyun in his window.

Popular Korean TV shows have become big business in Wudaokou. The drama My Love from the Star is insanely popular in China, and items related to the show are everywhere in Wudaokou, from bags, shoes, to lipstick, wristwatches, and glasses.

The Korean restaurant Seoul 798, on the third floor of Dongyuan Mansion next to the subway entrance, has an entire wall decorated with photos from Korean TV shows.

Sim Jung-bo, 32, is the owner of Barsak Chicken and Beer in the Wangjing district. "Korean students usually live in Wudaokou, but Koreans who have jobs in China tend to live in Wangjing, another major Korean community in northeastern Beijing," he says.

When Sim finished studying Chinese at the Beijing Language and Culture University in 2006, he sensed that there was a market for a new fried chicken restaurant in Wudaokou.

"At the time, there were already a dozen fried chicken restaurants there, but none of them tasted good. I wanted to bring authentic Korean fried chicken to China," he says.

However, Sim's relatives who own a popular fried chicken restaurant in Korea, didn't support his idea and refused to share the recipe of their secret sauce with him.

Undeterred, Sim developed his own recipe and opened a fried chicken takeaway in Wudaokou in 2006. The business was initially slow to get off the ground, but improved when he opened a store in Wangjing in 2011.

Having run the business for eight years, Sim says he has seen an increase in the number of Chinese customers recently.

"Thanks to the Korean TV series, there is now a fad in China for eating fried chicken. We have experienced a significant increase in Chinese customers and daily revenue. Previously, about 80 percent of our customers were Koreans, but this figure was reversed when the TV show My Love from the Star was aired then 80 percent of customers were Chinese. Now things are cooling down, but still the balance of our customers is half Chinese and half Korean," he says.

Sim's cuisine has become increasingly popular and he's planning to open two more restaurants, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and in Chengdu, Sichuan province. With his good business prospects, Sim believes he'll soon have proved himself to his relatives in South Korea.

Contact the writer at dongfangyu@chinadaily.com.cn