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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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 Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 3:20 am Post subject: Is Taco Bell coming to SK? |
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Taco Bell is trying the market here. Maybe the chain will spread. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/24/AR2010092402715.html
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Taco Bell hopes to spice up South Korea
On the day of Taco Bell's grand opening in Itaewon, the line stretched 40 minutes outside.
On the day of Taco Bell's grand opening in Itaewon, the line stretched 40 minutes outside. (Courtesy Of Taco Bell)
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By Chico Harlan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 25, 2010; 8:48 PM
SEOUL - In South Korea, where talk of the border rarely involves dinner options, Taco Bell this summer opened a restaurant, its only one in Asia. But indeed, not its first.
Taco Bell had tried Asia before, and the pair didn't get along. The chain closed its two previous South Korean franchises in the early 1990s. It then pulled out of China in 2008, restoring Asia's reputation as a continent unconquered by the taco.
Taco Bell chose Seoul for its Asian re-launch, though, for a reason that has little to do with refried beans and sour cream. Seoul appealed to Taco Bell, executives say, because few cities on Earth can better turn a novelty into a mainstream obsession. In the time it takes for other countries to warm to a new product, South Koreans have already liked it, loved it, photographed it, blogged about it and waited in 30-minute lines for it for two weeks straight.
Far away from a customer base in the United States that knows the delights and agonies of late-night taco dining, paid for entirely with pocket change, Taco Bell seeks a higher level of trendiness in South Korea. The new store's menu appears on an LED board. Wall hangings display a succession of culinary mood words: sizzle, steam, smash.
Shin Sang Yong, chief executive officer of M2G Ltd., the company that brought the chain to South Korea, thinks Taco Bell can work here because "people are ready for something new. They've had 20 years of pizza and hamburgers." Shin envisions opening 30 South Korean franchises in the next three years. One hundred in the next six. Right now, Seoul has about 30 Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants.
The city's three-story Taco Bell opened July 11, with 40-minute lines on the first day. Business in the first month exceeded projections by 20 percent, Shin said.
It remains to be seen whether Taco Bell will prosper here, or elsewhere in Asia, over the long term. Since Taco Bell last existed here 15 years ago, little has fundamentally changed in the way people eat. What's different is how they decide where to eat. In the world's most wired country, two of every five people, according to some estimates, maintain a blog. One of South Korea's preeminent search engines, Naver, has a special category for "powerbloggers," many of whom love writing about food. Taco Bell has held special events for these bloggers, hoping to win their approval.
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"They can kill a company," said Paul Yang, general manager of M2G. "People here are very fast. One of the fastest places to pick up trends. They lead pop culture in Asia - ahead of Japan, ahead of Hong Kong."
Food trends in South Korea can start from almost anywhere. In the past few years, South Korea has had sudden love affairs with doughnuts, frozen yogurt and waffles.
The kebab craze started on a street corner in 2006, when Turkey native Omer Yilmaz sold his signature dish to a few fanatics, who spread the gospel. Soon Yilmaz had one store, then two more, and now there are many copycats.
This year, self-trained chef Suji Park - who had created a mini-empire of restaurants that taught South Koreans to love Western-style brunch - has her sights on starting a new trend, introducing South Koreans to piled-high pastrami sandwiches.
It is a cross-cultural truth that people like large quantities of sodium and fat, whether melted atop crust, sandwiched in a bun or stuffed in a tortilla. But Mexican food still faces some hurdles in Asia. Unlike other Yum! Brands franchises - KFC and Pizza Hut, in particular - Taco Bell has a limited international footprint, with just 250 stores outside the United States. Theories abound as to why Mexican food is a hard sell, but many food enthusiasts in Seoul say they think South Koreans are itching not just for Western food, but also for food that Westerners like.
"A crowd draws a crowd," said Daniel Gray, a Seoul resident and food blogger who offers Korean cooking classes and restaurant tours. "The fact that the foreigners start to go there, there's a huge line around the block - everybody sees that."
Taco Bell's menu, for now, is simple: burritos, tacos, nachos, quesadillas and other demonstrations of nacho cheese engineering, such as the Fries BellGrande, which consists of fries, sour cream, cheese and meat all layered together.
Yang says the restaurant might soon put up a sign showing newcomers how to properly eat a taco; so far, he has noticed South Koreans struggle to angle their heads, leading to a "taco at the wrong orientation," and spillage of ingredients.
Several young women sat on the second floor of Seoul's Taco Bell one recent evening, devoted equally to consuming and photographing their food. Jung Ji Yoon, a 20-year-old college student, said that she had eaten at Taco Bell several times this summer, finding the taste to be "good - especially compared to the price."
But Jung recently decided to go on a diet, meaning that on this particular night, she planned to use Taco Bell as a meeting spot only, ordering nothing. She brought a small packet of tofu instead.
Special correspondent Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:07 am Post subject: |
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uh where have you been? there was a like a 15 page thread on the taco bell that came to itaewon
search function is your friend |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 5:19 am Post subject: |
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| If you bothered to read the article, it's about how the Itaewon location is meant to be a launching pad for Asia on the whole. The previous 15 page thread mostly revolved around North Americans lusting after tacos with Anzacs responding with trash talk about a food they had to look up on Wikipedia. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 5:20 am Post subject: |
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The OP just has a bad headline for the thread. The key bit of info from the article:
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| Shin envisions opening 30 South Korean franchises in the next three years. One hundred in the next six. |
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kiknkorea
Joined: 16 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:14 am Post subject: Re: Is Taco Bell coming to SK? |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
| Right now, Seoul has about 30 Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants. |
Really? I thought it was maybe 15.
I need to do more exploring! |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:26 am Post subject: |
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| I've ate it a dozen times so far and it's mostly Koreans. And there's always a line with it hard to get a place to plop down. It's a go... |
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Radius
Joined: 20 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:00 am Post subject: |
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| lol @ the Koreans struggling to eat a taco the right way. Korea's gonna get fat! |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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Taco Bell is so American it just might work in Korea!
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| so far, he has noticed South Koreans struggle to angle their heads, leading to a "taco at the wrong orientation," and spillage of ingredients. |
 Spillage! |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:03 am Post subject: |
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| Many more Taco Bells are coming. Ole! |
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nukeday
Joined: 13 May 2010
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:33 am Post subject: |
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| sojusucks wrote: |
| Many more Taco Bells are coming. Ole! |
100 in the next six years though? sounds like a capitalist's very optimistic prediction. |
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Seoulmann
Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:36 am Post subject: |
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America the Conquerer
Half the world with once traditional cities full of their own ethnic culture will all be lost to the Great American franchise.
sad .. very sad.. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:05 am Post subject: |
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| Seoulmann wrote: |
America the Conquerer
Half the world with once traditional cities full of their own ethnic culture will all be lost to the Great American franchise.
sad .. very sad.. |
So will a lot of American cities with their own ethnic culture. |
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Wishmaster
Joined: 06 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| Better having Taco Bell around rather than going to all the faux Mexican restaurants here and there expensive prices. By the way, the cheese quesadilla is awesome!!! |
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shinramyun
Joined: 31 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:52 am Post subject: |
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| taco bell gives you gas. only americans/mexicans like those crappy fast food. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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| shinramyun wrote: |
| taco bell gives you gas. only americans/mexicans like those crappy fast food. |
Mexicans like Taco Bell? Ha. |
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