Source: Screenshot from New York City Instagram
Amid the growing global popularity of Korean kimbap, a video showing a kimbap lunchbox being made has belatedly become a hot topic after being posted on the official Instagram of New York City.
In September 2023, a video titled “Making Kimbap in a New York Lunchroom” was posted.
The video is part of a segment introducing the lunchboxes of children living in New York City. The segment features lunch meals for children from not only the United States but also Korea, India, the UK, and the Dominican Republic, among others. New York City stated, “Children learn more about the world by looking at their friends’ lunchboxes.”
In the video, Avery revealed her lunchbox, saying, “My mom packed me rice, seaweed and foil.” The lunchbox contained seasoned seaweed, foil, and rice, and Avery started eating by rolling the rice and seaweed on a sheet of foil spread on her desk.
When asked why she likes kimbap, Avery replied, “Because it’s healthy and delicious.” The video has over 7 million views, maintaining its popularity eight months after its release.
The video became a significant topic of discussion locally. While the view counts for other videos in the segment ranged from 170,000 to 900,000, the gimbap-related video recorded a whopping 7.76 million views.
Meanwhile, from January to April, the export of Korean food, such as ramen, frozen kimbap, and kimchi, reached $3.12 billion. This is a 6.2% increase from last year’s period, marking the highest export performance from its duration.
However, the retail price of seaweed, below KRW 100 per sheet at the beginning of the year, has continued to rise, surpassing KRW 130 last week.
On April 26th, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation reported that the average retail price of 10 sheets of dried seaweed (medium quality) was KRW 1,304.
The average retail price of 10 sheets of dried seaweed has increased by 29% compared to a year ago (KRW 1,012). This is analyzed as an increase in supply, but the demand has outpaced the supply due to a larger increase in exports.
