The Decline of Tanghulu: Why This Once-Popular Snack Is Losing Its Flavor

“Very few customers come to eat rice and Tangulu. In the past, there were customers even before we opened, and we were selling about 80 to 90 skewers an hour. “

At 12 noon on the 10th, Tangulu store located in Mapo-gu, Seoul. The front of the shop was quiet. Although customers visiting nearby tourist spots stopped by from time to time, only five skewers were sold in an hour. The store’s owner, Choi (42), said, “It’s so quiet now that I can do business on my own.” Mr. Choi said he once had three part-time employees.

The popularity of Tanghulu, which was so high that the name ‘Sikhu Tang (Tanghulu after eating rice)’ was coined, is declining. Tangulu is a Chinese snack made by covering fruit with sugar syrup and freezing it. As it became popular mostly among elementary, middle and high school students, franchise stores started popping up all over the place. According to the Fair Trade Commission’s franchise trade information, Tanghulu has 17 franchises on their business signs. Last year alone, 8 new locations were registered.

In front of the famous Tanghulu store located in Mapo-gu, Seoul. The front of the store, where there was a line even before opening time, is now deserted (left). There is a cafe in the Tanghulu store location in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Until two months ago, there was a famous Tanghulu store in that place. / Reporter Min Youngbin

However, as the Tanghulu crackdown has subsided recently, store owners are considering closing their businesses. According to local administration licensing data from the Ministry of Interior and Safety, reports of closing Tanghulu stores are increasing rapidly. 72 stores closed in Tangulu last year. This year, 76 businesses closed in early May. It has already surpassed the total number of shops closed last year.

There was a cafe at the famous Tanghulu store, which is near the Hongik University Station with a large floating crowd. The store reported that they closed two months ago in March.

There was also a post on an online community for the self-employed saying that Tangulu stores were for sale. Dozens of stores were located in highly populated areas, such as near subway stations and commercial areas of elementary, middle, high schools and universities. One self-employed person said, “I didn’t know the Tangulu movement would end so soon. “It was ‘9 months in the world,'” he said, “I opened the store to collect the rights money, but now I have given up. “I’ll be happy if the store goes out,” he said.

In this situation, when the price of fruit, raw material, rose, Tanghulu stores took a direct hit. Depending on the industry, the price of Tanghulu is in the range of 3,000 to 4,000 won. It is said that the price of fruit, a raw material, has increased by about 20%. For example, the price of straw rose from 300 won to 500 won per piece. An industry official said, “No matter how much a fruit is worth in gold, we did not raise the price because we thought it was a children’s snack. “But of course, the prices of all the raw materials have gone up, so there are a lot of concerns.” He continued, “We are considering introducing new products with fruits whose prices have increased to a lower level. “

A foreign tourist is taking photos of Tanghulu on the streets of central Seoul on an afternoon last October when Tanghulu was under a crack. /News 1

The negative perception that Tanghulu causes adult diseases is thought to be the reason for the decline in Tangulu’s popularity. Kang Ji-young (38), who visited the shop with her daughter, said, “My child likes strawberry tanghulu, so I used to eat it often, but these days, no I eat it only once or twice a month, “After I heard that it can cause diabetes, I stopped visiting it often. “Isn’t childhood diabetes more frightening than adult-onset diabetes?”

It is also because of the warmer weather. Mr Hong, an office worker in his 20s, said, “As the weather got hotter, the sugar melted outside Tanghulu. “I don’t like the unique sticky feeling, and I drink alcohol with zero sugar, so I was wondering if I really needed to eat sugar with Tanghulu,” he said. but now I’m not going out of my way to eat it.”

The industry believes that the fact that the food trends of the younger generation, who dominated the Tanghulu craze, have changed is also a factor in Tangulu’s decline in popularity. An industry official said, “The 1020 generation, who were Tangulu’s core customer base, have been enjoying yogurt ice cream lately,” he added, “There are more yogurt ice cream mukbangs on Reels and YouTube shorts what is on Tanghulu. “Tangulu was pushed out of the movement,” he said.

Eunhee Lee, professor of consumer science at Inha University, said, “Yogurt ice cream has started to become popular among the younger generation as a summer dessert. “The Tanghulu rift is over,” he said.