A Taste of Home: Vietnamese Woman Sells Banh Chung in South Korea for Tet

For the Vietnamese community living in South Korea, the Lunar New Year (Tet) can be a bittersweet time filled with nostalgia. However, entrepreneurs like Vu Thi Phuong are working hard to bring the authentic taste of the Vietnamese Tet to the streets of Siheung, Gyeonggi-do. Phuong, who has lived in Korea for 11 years and is married to a local, opened her restaurant three years ago. While she serves favorites like Pho and Bun Bo year-round, her 'Banh Chung' and 'Xoi Gac' (red sticky rice) become the stars of the menu as the New Year approaches. Selling for approximately 270,000 VND (15,000 KRW) per cake, her products are in high demand, not just among overseas Vietnamese but also among Koreans.

Phuong explains that many Koreans enjoy Banh Chung because it reminds them of their own traditional rice cakes (Tteok), but with a unique savory filling of mung beans and pork. To ensure the highest quality and most authentic flavor, she imports key ingredients like dong leaves, high-quality sticky rice, and specialty peppers directly from Vietnam. She even customizes her recipes to suit the diverse palates of customers from Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam now living in Korea. This attention to detail has made her shop a cultural hub where people can find a piece of their homeland in a foreign land.

During the peak Tet season, Phuong’s parents travel from Vietnam to help her manage the hundreds of orders. She limits the number of orders to around 800-1,000 cakes per season to ensure that every single one is perfectly cooked and 'den deo' (firm yet soft). Beyond the business aspect, Phuong sees her work as a mission to preserve and share Vietnamese culture. Many of her Korean customers are husbands of Vietnamese women who buy the cakes as gifts for their families, bridging the two cultures through food. Although she misses the atmosphere of Tet in her hometown of Hai Phong, the joy of providing a traditional meal to her fellow countrymen keeps her spirit high. Her story is a beautiful example of how the Vietnamese diaspora continues to keep their heritage alive, no matter where they are in the world.

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