Cooking fad spreads among men
By Lee Kyung-min
More Korean men are taking up cooking amid a recent fad ignited by a series of popular TV shows starring male chefs.
Young and good-looking male chefs have appeared in television and online programs, and pushed the idea among women that “men who cook are sexy.”
Much of the credit for the craze goes to chef Baek Jong-won who rose to stardom for his tips on easy cooking.
His easy-to-cook recipes led men to try and repeat them.
Accordingly the time men spend in kitchens is increasing steadily. The Seoul Metropolitan Government surveyed 27,000 people last year, and found that 20.9 percent of the male respondents said they spent more than 10 minutes a day cooking, almost double the 11.9 percent in 2004.
The increase is notable compared with women’s response to the same question, at 71.3 percent, up slightly from 69.7 percent.
Men who cook said they usually spent 41 minutes in the kitchen compared to women’s one hour and 39 minutes.
Following men’s growing interest in cooking, their purchase of cooking utensils and related easy-to-cook items has spiked.
According to Gmarket, an online shopping website, men’s purchase of cooking utensils for the first half of this year increased 24 percent compared to a year earlier.
Knives, chopping boards and frying pans were the most popular items sold.
An official from Gmarket said the newest fad is likely to keep up the sales.