Why are traditional Korean family restaurants gradually disappearing?

VHO - Traditional family-style Korean restaurants, famous for their many vegetable side dishes, are gradually disappearing. Why?

Traditional Korean food is losing its position in the race of the times.

When diligence becomes a "burden"

A traditional Korean meal with the table covered with banchan (side dishes), each small plate is a masterpiece of elaborate work, from pickled vegetables, blanched bean sprouts, pickled radish to steamed tofu, seaweed soup... has long been considered a symbol of a healthy lifestyle, a harmony between nutrition and aesthetics.

However, those signature meals are slowly fading into memory as more and more family-style restaurants in Korea are forced to close.

The decline in the number of traditional restaurants is not only a problem for the Korean culinary industry, but also reflects profound changes in modern society: rising raw material costs, high labor costs, while the cooking process is too meticulous and requires traditional kitchen skills that the younger generation is gradually moving away from.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture , Food and Rural Affairs of Korea, the proportion of Korean restaurants in the total food service industry has decreased from 45.6% (in 2018) to only 41.8% in 2024.

Meanwhile, the group of restaurants serving fast food such as Pizza, hamburgers, and Chinese noodles recorded remarkable growth.

Behind those numbers are the stories of thousands of family restaurants that had to close when the old owners got old and their children were not interested in taking over. They chose a less risky, less labor-intensive startup path: Fast food, minimalist processes, stable profits.

Losses beyond the restaurant

But family restaurants are more than just places to eat. They are living treasure troves of Korean culinary art, where doenjang is brewed in the traditional way, where wild vegetables are picked in season, and where each side dish tells a story about the region and the climate.

Their disappearance means that communities lose the bridges to healthy lifestyles that nurtured their grandparents' generation, losing the link between the past and the present.

Moreover, this is also a silent warning about public health. As children increasingly indulge in black bean noodles, hamburgers, fried chicken, while boiled vegetables, seaweed soup, and whole grains are gradually disappearing from the dining table, South Korea is witnessing an alarming increase in prediabetes and obesity.

Side dishes - the essence of Korean nutrition

Despite their simple presentation, traditional Korean meals are among the most balanced and nutritious in the world .

Characterized by the principle of "eating many dishes, a little of each dish", this model helps limit calorie intake while still ensuring adequate nutrition.

In particular, side dishes with vegetables, if prepared with the right amount of salt, not only provide fiber and antioxidants but also help control blood sugar effectively. According to the principles of modern nutrition, eating vegetables before starch helps slow down the absorption of carbohydrates, avoiding spikes in blood sugar after meals, the main cause of metabolic diseases.

Korean culinary experts affirm that traditional family meals are good for health and prevent chronic diseases.

Back to home cooking, a smart choice for the future

Nutrition experts confirm: Family meals, with fresh ingredients, little processing, little fat, are still the ideal diet to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and colorectal cancer.

A meal of brown rice, low-sodium kimchi, seaweed soup, steamed tofu, boiled eggs, and stir-fried lean pork with vegetables is many times better than a serving of starchy, sodium-laden black bean noodles, or a hamburger loaded with trans fats.

But the problem is feasibility. Even health-conscious people admit that they have a hard time finding restaurants serving authentic “grandma’s cuisine” in the modern city.

The few remaining places, like a few steamed barley shops on the outskirts of Seoul, have become a destination for those looking to rediscover the old taste. But they are few in number, and most survive on passion rather than business efficiency.

A Call for the Korean Cuisine Industry

It is time for the Korean food industry to rethink its strategy for preserving traditional cuisine. Small restaurants cannot be expected to shoulder the responsibility of preserving the nation's culinary culture alone.

Specific support policies are needed: from subsidizing raw materials, teaching cooking skills to the younger generation, to building sustainable business models for traditional restaurants, like what Japan did with washoku or the Mediterranean has preserved the Italian-Greek menu.

Cuisine is not only a matter of taste, but also the core of culture and public health. If traditional Korean food is lost because it is not “up to date”, it is not only the fault of the market, but also the abandonment of heritage, which will be paid for with full stomachs but unnourished hearts and bodies.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/du-lich/vi-sao-cac-nha-hang-gia-dinh-truyen-thong-han-quoc-dang-dan-bien-mat-156386.html