New York is filled with festivals and celebrations for every nationality. The 2013 Korean Food Fair was held this past October 19th and 20th, right in Times Square. As a major Kpop fan, there was no way I was going to miss this!
The festival had two sections: the food and the stage. I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine: I don’t like most Asian foods, despite loving the culture. How I’ll survive in Korea without liking kimchi, I do not know. Despite this, I did try some of the foods, for the sake of science. Most of the products were health foods, with a few unhealthy treats hidden around. The ginseng tea was surprisingly good, especially since I’m picky with my teas. Cold kimchi, alas, is still not my favorite, but I recommend trying kimchi soup, which is spicy but delicious. If you walked down to the left back of the food booths, you would see a Tteokmechigi and tteok stand. They are essentially rice cakes with an interesting, chewy texture—a winner with me!
Continuing along the booths (but avoiding the fish), I came upon the hidden junk food. Score! Called “Ppushu”, this snack is essentially dried ramyun. There were several different flavors, but I tried what I thought was barbecue. It was crunchy, and extremely spicy. When eating Korean food, always be prepared for the spiciness! Along with the food booths, there was a booth with traditional Korean games and hanboks. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try one on because the Taekwondo performance was starting.
The K-Tigers did numerous tricks, most of which entailed kicking a piece of wood out of a teammate’s hand. This sounds simple, but they upped the difficulty pretty quickly, standing on each other’s shoulders and performing elaborate flips. The K-Tigers also performed to several Kpop songs, such as the (in)famous “Gangnam Style” and 2PM’s “Put Your Hands Up.”
After the taekwondo was a Kpop dance cover group, I LOVE DANCE. This was the performance I was most excited to see. However, they only had two covers, CL’s “The Baddest Female” and Exo’s “Growl,” both of which are very strong songs, with massive popularity in Korea. Despite how short the dance cover was, it was extremely strong. Adding to my amusement was the fanboys behind me squealing and trying to sing along.
Although the festival is over for this year, I strongly recommend you try to check it out next year. It was mind boggling to see such a huge event, especially as a newcomer to New York.
Until next year’s festival, if you’re interested in trying out some Korean food, head down to Korea Town! This is a relatively underexplored area around 7th Avenue and 32nd Street. There are traditional restaurants, pastry shops, karaoke bars, and some makeup and accessory shops. Prices vary, but the quality is generally pretty good. It’s definitely worth the trip out of Morningside Heights!