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Rice cake exports hit fresh high in 2024

Published: 29 Jan. 2025, 13:22 Updated: 29 Jan. 2025, 14:06

Songpyeon, a type of sticky rice cake called tteok, is eaten over Chuseok holiday. [YONHAP]

Korea's exports of traditional rice cakes reached a fresh high in 2024, data showed Wednesday, driven by the growing popularity of Korean food around the globe.

Outbound shipments of rice cakes reached $91.4 million in 2024, up 17.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The latest figure marks a sharp increase from $34.3 million recorded in 2019.

By destination, exports to the United States amounted to $34 million, followed by the Netherlands with $8 million and Vietnam $6.7 million.

The ministry especially attributed the strong shipments of rice cakes to the growing popularity of tteokbokki, a spicy street food made with rice cakes.

"Amid the popularity of home meal replacements and Korean entertainment content, the demand for tteokbokki has also increased," an agricultural ministry official said.

The Oxford English Dictionary has recently added tteokbokki to its list of entries, explaining it as "a Korean dish consisting of small, cylindrical rice cakes cooked in a spicy sauce made with gochujang, usually served as a snack (often as street food)."

Yonhap