Food Delivery Gets its Apps
The chat room has become an integral aspect of people’s daily lives in hyper-connected Korea. People come together by the dozen to share news, thoughts, and feelings through messages posted on chat windows. Dantokbang, or group chat room, on the free mobile app of the Korean instant messaging provider Kakao Talk, is familiar to every household.
Foreigners who have lived in Korea for any length of time have almost certainly ordered food delivered to their homes, and some quite often. Food delivery service is not at all unique to Korea. But there surely are distinctive aspects that make Korean-style food delivery services quite special.
All Manner of Meals to Your Door 24/7
First of all, there is no extra delivery charge. And you don’t have to tip the delivery person either, as might be expected in other countries. You can order delivery of a stunning variety of foods and pay only the regular menu price. Moreover, your orders are delivered very quickly, even late at night, and in manycases 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many neighborhood delivery restaurants are open even on holidays. Chinese or Korean foods arrive not lukewarm in disposable containers, but piping hot in regular dishes; deliverymen return later to collect the used dishes that are left outside your door.
Food delivery flyers with discount coupons attached are regularly stuffed into mailboxes on the first floor of apartment buildings. Even the smallest neighborhood delivery restaurant operates a helpful website. You don’t even have to make a phone call to order food these days. You can choose your food, place an order, and pay with just a few clicks on a delivery app on your smartphone.
All Manner of Meals to Your Door 24/7
First of all, there is no extra delivery charge. And you don’t have to tip the delivery person either, as might be expected in other countries. You can order delivery of a stunning variety of foods and pay only the regular menu price. Moreover, your orders are delivered very quickly, even late at night, and in manycases 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many neighborhood delivery restaurants are open even on holidays. Chinese or Korean foods arrive not lukewarm in disposable containers, but piping hot in regular dishes; deliverymen return later to collect the used dishes that are left outside your door.
Food delivery flyers with discount coupons attached are regularly stuffed into mailboxes on the first floor of apartment buildings. Even the smallest neighborhood delivery restaurant operates a helpful website. You don’t even have to make a phone call to order food these days. You can choose your food, place an order, and pay with just a few clicks on a delivery app on your smartphone.
Early History of Food Delivery
Korea’s earliest known record on commercial food delivery service is one about hyojonggaeng, meaning “soup eaten to chase away a hangover at daybreak when the bell announces the lifting of curfew.” In the book Haedong jukji (“Bamboo Branch Lyrics of Korea”) published in 1925, Choe Yeongneon, a scholar and calligrapher during the later years of the Joseon Dynasty, wrote about this hearty soup: “People in Gwangju (a county south of Seoul, in Gyeonggi Province) are known to be good at cooking hyojonggaeng. They put cabbage hearts, bean sprouts, pine mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, beef ribs, sea cucumbers, and abalones into water mixed with thick soybean paste, and boil them all day. At night they wrap up the soup pots in padded blankets so they could be transported to Seoul. There the soup pots are delivered to the residences of senior government officials around the time when the morning bell rings. Pots would still be warm and the soup was highly prized as a hangover cure.”
This shows how urban capitalism had already started to seep slowly into Joseon society, considering that food delivery was a basic service enterprise that emerged early in urban commercial culture. In 1910, Joseon was forcibly annexed by Japan, which had adopted modern Western technology, commerce, and culture earlier than its neighbors. Thereafter, Korea moved toward modernization under Japanese rule. People migrated in masses from rural to urban areas in search of work, which triggered changes in the urban lifestyles.
After Incheon opened its port to foreign ships, it became a melting pot with the droves of newcomers arriving from the Pyongan, Hwanghae, and Chungcheong provinces, who joined the fast-growing Japanese and Chinese communities there. Naturally, the area’s food culture was shaped by this intersection of influences. Among the most popular dishes to emerge at that time were jajangmyeon, a Koreanstyle Chinese noodle dish, and naengmyeon, or buckwheat noodles in chilled broth, which was typically enjoyed in the northern part of Korea. When ice plants began to distribute ice blocks to consumers, ordinary people began enjoying naengmyeon year-round. Incheon became a major source of ice because ice plants were built there from early on to provide ice blocks for ocean-going ships.
Kim Suk-bae, a photographer born in 1925, recalls that his family ordered naengmyeon by phone from Incheon to their house in Eulji-ro, a downtown area in Seoul, in 1938. At that time, there were naengmyeon restaurants on the nearby Jongno 3-ga and Cheongjin-dong streets. But his family wanted to enjoy the specialty made in the faraway town of Incheon. The early food delivery culture disappeared toward the end of World War II, when food was rationed and restaurants shut down.
Korea’s earliest known record on commercial food delivery service is one about hyojonggaeng, meaning “soup eaten to chase away a hangover at daybreak when the bell announces the lifting of curfew.” In the book Haedong jukji (“Bamboo Branch Lyrics of Korea”) published in 1925, Choe Yeongneon, a scholar and calligrapher during the later years of the Joseon Dynasty, wrote about this hearty soup: “People in Gwangju (a county south of Seoul, in Gyeonggi Province) are known to be good at cooking hyojonggaeng. They put cabbage hearts, bean sprouts, pine mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, beef ribs, sea cucumbers, and abalones into water mixed with thick soybean paste, and boil them all day. At night they wrap up the soup pots in padded blankets so they could be transported to Seoul. There the soup pots are delivered to the residences of senior government officials around the time when the morning bell rings. Pots would still be warm and the soup was highly prized as a hangover cure.”
This shows how urban capitalism had already started to seep slowly into Joseon society, considering that food delivery was a basic service enterprise that emerged early in urban commercial culture. In 1910, Joseon was forcibly annexed by Japan, which had adopted modern Western technology, commerce, and culture earlier than its neighbors. Thereafter, Korea moved toward modernization under Japanese rule. People migrated in masses from rural to urban areas in search of work, which triggered changes in the urban lifestyles.
After Incheon opened its port to foreign ships, it became a melting pot with the droves of newcomers arriving from the Pyongan, Hwanghae, and Chungcheong provinces, who joined the fast-growing Japanese and Chinese communities there. Naturally, the area’s food culture was shaped by this intersection of influences. Among the most popular dishes to emerge at that time were jajangmyeon, a Koreanstyle Chinese noodle dish, and naengmyeon, or buckwheat noodles in chilled broth, which was typically enjoyed in the northern part of Korea. When ice plants began to distribute ice blocks to consumers, ordinary people began enjoying naengmyeon year-round. Incheon became a major source of ice because ice plants were built there from early on to provide ice blocks for ocean-going ships.
Kim Suk-bae, a photographer born in 1925, recalls that his family ordered naengmyeon by phone from Incheon to their house in Eulji-ro, a downtown area in Seoul, in 1938. At that time, there were naengmyeon restaurants on the nearby Jongno 3-ga and Cheongjin-dong streets. But his family wanted to enjoy the specialty made in the faraway town of Incheon. The early food delivery culture disappeared toward the end of World War II, when food was rationed and restaurants shut down.
Ppali! Ppali!
Food delivery became embedded in Korea due largely to the ppali, ppali (quickly, quickly) mindset that became part of the nation’s rapid modernization process. Right after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, Korea experienced national division and a tragic internecine war. But within a short period of time, the Korean economy quickly grew to vault the country into the ranks of the world’s top 10 trading nations. In this process, the ppali, ppali approach played a key role in achieving rapid economic growth from the 1960s as well as modernization through the 1980s with full democratization thereafter. A great many Koreans had to work hard and long hours to attain the goal of high growth, shortening their lunch and dinner breaks.
Food delivery services were also boosted by the country’s favorable market conditions. Food delivery was able to firmly take root thanks to the existence of many densely populated urbanized areas and the age-old custom of enjoying late-night snacks, industry experts point out. Delivery service is feasible only when there is sufficient demand within easily accessible areas. A massive inflow of workers into the restaurant industry in recent years, a result of increased unemployment due to the economic slowdown and the early retirement of baby boomers, has also expanded food delivery services. At a time when growth of the restaurant industry has stagnated, food delivery service has stepped in as a means to survive in a fiercely competitive market environment.
Food delivery became embedded in Korea due largely to the ppali, ppali (quickly, quickly) mindset that became part of the nation’s rapid modernization process. Right after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, Korea experienced national division and a tragic internecine war. But within a short period of time, the Korean economy quickly grew to vault the country into the ranks of the world’s top 10 trading nations. In this process, the ppali, ppali approach played a key role in achieving rapid economic growth from the 1960s as well as modernization through the 1980s with full democratization thereafter. A great many Koreans had to work hard and long hours to attain the goal of high growth, shortening their lunch and dinner breaks.
Food delivery services were also boosted by the country’s favorable market conditions. Food delivery was able to firmly take root thanks to the existence of many densely populated urbanized areas and the age-old custom of enjoying late-night snacks, industry experts point out. Delivery service is feasible only when there is sufficient demand within easily accessible areas. A massive inflow of workers into the restaurant industry in recent years, a result of increased unemployment due to the economic slowdown and the early retirement of baby boomers, has also expanded food delivery services. At a time when growth of the restaurant industry has stagnated, food delivery service has stepped in as a means to survive in a fiercely competitive market environment.
There’s an App for That
In 2010, amidst intensifying competition in the food delivery market, app services were introduced to provide users with up-to-date information on delivery restaurants based on the location of customers. Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphone users, these services have strengthened the apps’ real-time connectivity with consumers; hence food delivery apps took off in earnest. These apps now offer various complementary services, like providing user feedback, along with payment functions and offers of special discounts. As befits the IT powerhouse that Korea has become, large numbers of smartphone users are comfortable with using new app services.
In a survey of dining trends conducted by the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute in 2013, 84.2 percent of respondents said their dining habits had changed due to the proliferation of mobile devices and services. Some 53.5 percent said they gathered information on restaurants with their mobile devices and 25.3 percent indicated they had downloaded apps to check out information on new restaurants and their menus. In a similar survey in 2014, in which a new question on delivery apps was added, 18.2 percent of respondents said they used delivery apps. Most of the delivery app users were in their 20s and 30s.
Currently, 30 to 40 delivery apps are engaged in fierce competition. The combined number of downloads of the top three delivery apps — Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, and Baedaltong — has reportedly exceeded 40 million. To stay ahead of the pack, the Baedal Minjok app allows customers to use its “all-in-one”
location-based services, skipping the process of entering user information. This cutting-edge technology is akin to the emerging mobile interaction with the Internet of Things.
Buoyed by their success in the domestic market, food delivery app businesses are now advancing into overseas markets. Therefore, it now seems necessary to think about ways to add new value to the Korean food delivery culture so that it can benefit more people and contribute to the public good, beyond immediate gratification of one’s desire for food. After all, when having late-night snacks or meals delivered to your home or office, isn’t it more satisfying to share them with your family and colleagues?
In a 2013 survey of dining trends, 84.2 percent of respondents said their dining habits had changed due to the proliferation of mobile devices and services. Some 53.5 percent said they gathered information on restaurants with their mobile devices and 25.3 percent indicated that they had downloaded apps to check out information on new restaurants and their menus.
The article above is courtesy of Korea Foundation (http://koreana.or.kr/user/0001/nd28580.do?View&boardNo=00000026&pubLang=English&pubYear=2016&pubMonth=SPRING&zineInfoNo=0001).
In 2010, amidst intensifying competition in the food delivery market, app services were introduced to provide users with up-to-date information on delivery restaurants based on the location of customers. Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphone users, these services have strengthened the apps’ real-time connectivity with consumers; hence food delivery apps took off in earnest. These apps now offer various complementary services, like providing user feedback, along with payment functions and offers of special discounts. As befits the IT powerhouse that Korea has become, large numbers of smartphone users are comfortable with using new app services.
In a survey of dining trends conducted by the Korea Foodservice Industry Research Institute in 2013, 84.2 percent of respondents said their dining habits had changed due to the proliferation of mobile devices and services. Some 53.5 percent said they gathered information on restaurants with their mobile devices and 25.3 percent indicated they had downloaded apps to check out information on new restaurants and their menus. In a similar survey in 2014, in which a new question on delivery apps was added, 18.2 percent of respondents said they used delivery apps. Most of the delivery app users were in their 20s and 30s.
Currently, 30 to 40 delivery apps are engaged in fierce competition. The combined number of downloads of the top three delivery apps — Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, and Baedaltong — has reportedly exceeded 40 million. To stay ahead of the pack, the Baedal Minjok app allows customers to use its “all-in-one”
location-based services, skipping the process of entering user information. This cutting-edge technology is akin to the emerging mobile interaction with the Internet of Things.
Buoyed by their success in the domestic market, food delivery app businesses are now advancing into overseas markets. Therefore, it now seems necessary to think about ways to add new value to the Korean food delivery culture so that it can benefit more people and contribute to the public good, beyond immediate gratification of one’s desire for food. After all, when having late-night snacks or meals delivered to your home or office, isn’t it more satisfying to share them with your family and colleagues?
In a 2013 survey of dining trends, 84.2 percent of respondents said their dining habits had changed due to the proliferation of mobile devices and services. Some 53.5 percent said they gathered information on restaurants with their mobile devices and 25.3 percent indicated that they had downloaded apps to check out information on new restaurants and their menus.
The article above is courtesy of Korea Foundation (http://koreana.or.kr/user/0001/nd28580.do?View&boardNo=00000026&pubLang=English&pubYear=2016&pubMonth=SPRING&zineInfoNo=0001).