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NEW YORK ― Food trucks are finally legal in Korea, a country that already has a huge street food culture. Does that mean the new niche industry is going to get rolling easily? Not quite, experts say, if businesses try to stuff people with the same old snacks.
''The Korean street food scene is awesome, but food trucks need to go beyond tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and hotteok (cinnamon sugar pancakes),'' says Mike Kim, who runs a Vietnamese fusion food truck in San Francisco. ''Food trucks are a completely different business concept.''
As part of President Park Geun-hye's deregulation drive, the government will allow the conversion of commercial trucks into mobile kitchens starting July. The regulatory reform is expected to open an entirely new market of food entrepreneurs.
In the U.S., food trucks first started out as a fad during the recession, but are now going mainstream in most major cities. From gourmet food and desserts to late night snacks, food trucks have become a go-to dining solution for people who want high-quality restaurant food at fast-food prices. And among the most popular are Korean food trucks, many of which became famous for their Korean-Mexican mash-up.
''Food trucks can be a less risky opportunity for the young and inexperienced to try something new. It's not a place to offer the same thing as the next door street vendor,'' said Kim, who stressed that the success of the American food truck industry was largely driven by adventurous first-time entrepreneurs.
Coffee-related food trucks are expected to be some of the most common in Korea once deregulation takes effect, but experienced mobile restaurant owners say go bolder than just coffee.
''Use the trucks as an opportunity to come up with creative or even crazy menu ideas,'' says Phillip Lee, who runs a popular Korean-Mexican taco truck in New York City. ''Customers and the general public tend to be a lot more open to new menu concepts when it's done out of a truck versus a store setting.''
As a practical advice, he says don't be overly ambitious from the start.
''It's difficult to cook on the truck and operationally it's always a challenge, so keep your menu small. Focus on your best. It's always quality over quantity,'' he said, stressing that owners must always be ready for mechanical issues.
''If you budgeted 100,000 won per month on maintenance, expect to double or even triple that amount. Expect things to always break down,'' Lee added.
As for possible menu items, experts say going gourmet usually has a better chance for success.
''Don't skimp on top quality ingredients. Good ingredients equal good food. Once people start relating food truck to cheap quality, that would be the end of your business,'' said Kim. ''Going gourmet isn't that difficult. For example, instead of the traditional hotteok, perhaps someone can try experimenting a combination of hotteok and a few different types of aged cheese and a dose of maple syrup.''
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