CreatripTeam

At the APEC summit in Gyeongju, a brief compliment from Chinese President Xi Jinping—"I enjoyed Hwangnam bread"—triggered a sudden sales boom for the local specialty Hwangnam bread (황남빵). President Lee Jae-myung reportedly gifted 200 boxes of Hwangnam bread to the Chinese delegation and instructed gifts for all APEC delegations, boosting tourist queues and online attention. The event also highlighted other K-food moments: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang joined a Seoul “chimaek” (치맥, fried chicken and beer) gathering and handed out kimbap (김밥) and banana milk, causing spikes in orders for Kanbu Chicken (깐부치킨) and renewed interest in banana milk. Companies leveraged the attention with social media promotions and gifts, showing how brief celebrity or leader endorsements can rapidly amplify Korean food culture internationally.