The Food Service Industry Sees a Flood of Contactless Services for 'Gwipojok' During This Year's Holidays

New Menu Launched to Enjoy Holiday Foods via Delivery Service Instead

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, many people are expected to give up returning home for the Lunar New Year holiday this year, creating a large number of 'Gwipojok' (people who forgo returning home). As a result, demand for non-face-to-face and delivery services is expected to increase during this holiday period. In response, domestic dining companies have introduced various menus that can be enjoyed instead of traditional holiday foods during the holiday.

According to the industry on the 6th, the delivery-specialized snack franchise School Food Delivery has launched a variety of tteokbokki menus. The popular menu item ‘Jaengban Guk Tteok’ boasts a generous amount of broth, making it perfect to enjoy alongside side dishes such as fried dumplings and fried seaweed rolls. The ‘Buldak Carbonara Pasta Tteokbokki,’ developed in collaboration with Samyang Foods last fall, surpassed 10,000 sales within three weeks of its launch.

There are also ‘Soy Carbonara Pasta Tteokbokki’ and ‘Honey Rice Cake Carbonara Pasta Tteokbokki,’ which combine soy sauce and cream sauce, as well as the ‘Spicy Carbonara Pasta Tteokbokki,’ a rose tteokbokki that has maintained steady popularity online.

When it comes to delivery food, chicken cannot be left out. bhc Chicken has newly released ‘Poteking Fried.’ This new menu item enhances the crispy texture by coating thinly sliced domestic potatoes over the existing chicken batter. The savory and mild natural flavor of the potatoes blends harmoniously with the juicy chicken taste.

For consumers longing for traditional holiday home-cooked meals, single-serving Korean dishes also attract attention. The soup brand Yuksudang has newly introduced four types of spicy kimchi stew using dried pollack broth. The new menu includes ‘Pork Kimchi Stew,’ ‘Ham Budae Kimchi Stew,’ ‘Tuna Kimchi Stew,’ and ‘Tuna Soft Tofu Kimchi Stew.’

Wonhalmeoni Bossam Jokbal has launched a premium lunchbox that allows customers to enjoy various Korean dishes at once. The four types include ‘Bossam & LA Galbi Lunchbox,’ ‘Bossam & Stir-fried Squid Lunchbox,’ ‘LA Galbi Lunchbox,’ and ‘Stir-fried Squid Lunchbox.’

An industry official explained, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, demand for non-face-to-face services is expected to remain high during this Lunar New Year holiday, and many consumers are likely to seek out various delivery menus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.