The global popularity of K-food led to a surge in exports of ramyeon, gim and cooked rice this year, leading to gimbap shortages in Korean supermarkets.
Videos of foreigners trying Trader Joe's new frozen gimbap product went viral on social media. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
The unprecedented international popularity of K-food drove record-breaking exports of ramyeon, gim (dried seaweed), and cooked rice, causing shortages of gimbap in supermarkets.
Trader Joe's, a major U.S. supermarket, began selling frozen gimbap from the Korean company Olgot this year. The product went viral on social media and rapidly sold out.
Driven by robust overseas demand for gimbap, Korea's exports of gim and cooked rice hit historic highs during the first 10 months of this year. Gim exports increased by 20.4 percent to reach $670 million, while exports of cooked rice products surged by 29.9 percent during the same period.
![Videos of foreigners trying Trader Joe's new frozen gimbap product went viral on social media. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://img1.daumcdn.net/thumb/R658x0.q70/?fname=https://t1.daumcdn.net/news/202312/28/koreajoongangdaily/20231228113746012ldwg.jpg)