France's Chosen 'Korea Special Gift'... Sesame Oil, Sikhye, 82 Kim Ji-young

Gift Set Composed of Korean Literature and Food Released by Retailer Fnac

At Fnac, a major French retailer located throughout Europe, a gift set consisting of Korean novels and food products has been sold, attracting attention.

According to local media on the 15th, Fnac released three limited edition Christmas gift sets last November. One of them is a gift set themed around Korea.

Fnac is a large French retailer that sells culture and electronics products. It also has stores in Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, and other countries. It can be considered a franchise similar to Kyobo Bookstore in Korea.

[Photo by FNAC website]

The 'Korean Gift Set' released by Fnac contains four books related to Korea and some food items. The Korean-related books include two novels, one comic book, and one cookbook.

The novels included are "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" by author Cho Nam-joo and "Hot Blood" by author Kim Un-su. The comic book (graphic novel) included is "Namok" by author Kim Geum-sook, and the cookbook contains Korean food recipes by author Caroline Hwang. A bookmark featuring the Taegeukgi (Korean flag) is also included.

The Korean food items include roasted seaweed, sesame oil, and a can of sikhye (sweet rice drink). Fnac added that the seaweed is to be eaten with rice, and the sesame oil is to be used in cooking to enhance flavor.

This gift set was sold for 75 euros (approximately 100,000 KRW). Fnac recommended this gift set as a Christmas present for Korean literature fans nearby.

Netizens responded by saying, "It seems to be the first time to see a Korean set composed of literature rather than K-POP in Europe," "The combination of books and food is interesting," and "It shows signs of careful thought."

This is not the first time Fnac has focused on Korean culture. In Europe, where Korean was considered a linguistic desert, Fnac displayed Korean language learning materials with "Annyeong" (Hello) written on the cover prominently in the foreign language section.

In 2019, Fnac set up a dedicated BTS corner in its stores, displaying and selling all albums released by BTS as well as related merchandise such as dolls.

Meanwhile, the demand for Korean language courses in France increased by 300% over five years as of 2022. As the demand to cook Korean food directly increased, imports of Korean food products such as seaweed, gochujang (red chili paste), and soy sauce rose by 47% to 80% compared to 2021.

Experts believe that while the past K-POP craze was mainly favored by some young people, recent popularity of Korean dramas like "Squid Game" has raised overall interest in Korean culture in France.

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