Picture this: the spicy, salty, hot dish of malatang, followed by the sweet crunch of tanghulu for dessert – “How’s malatanghulu for dinner today?” Malatanghulu, a recently coined term for having tanghulu as a dessert after eating malatang, reflects the soaring popularity of tanghulu – fruits on a stick laden with glistening sugar syrup. This sweet snack has captured the hearts of South Korea’s youth, with more than 1400 tanghulu stores open for business. But beneath their charm of tanghulu lies a conundrum of health concerns and controversial sequences, casting a shadow over the nation’s latest craze.

According to HankookIlbo, the market for tanghulus surged from 430 million Korean Won (KRW) in April to a staggering 5.4 billion KRW in September, marking a remarkable 1,168 percent surge in just five months. This soaring popularity has led the number of stores of a famous Tanghulu franchise named ‘Wangga Tanghulu’ to increase by more than tenfold from 43 last year to over 400 this year. Concerns and controversies have erupted at the same time, sparking a nationwide discussion of the tanghulu craze. Amid the sweetness, it is crucial for our society to hang in there, confronting the challenges this trend poses.

The Sugar Conundrum

Central to the controversy lies the alarming rise in excessive sugar consumption among South Korea’s adolescents. As reported by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), the number of students aged 13 to 15 receiving treatments for type two diabetes has increased by approximately 1.7 times, from 1,143 cases to 1,932 cases in 2022. This trend is not exclusive to middle school students; elementary and high school students are also experiencing a rising prevalence of the disease. However, putting the blame solely on tanghulus would be unfair, as recent health concerns can be largely attributed to the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). With strict social distancing measures, students have become less physically active, resulting in a significant increase in the obesity rate from 15.1 percent in 2019 to 19 percent in 2021.

South Korea has seen a variety of dessert trends come and go, from mega-sized macarons and black sugar bubble tea to tanghulus, all abundant with high sugar content. It must be noted that the issue of chronic diseases among adolescents cannot be entirely free from the influence of these sweet desserts. Each tanghulu contains nine to 24 grams of sugar, which means that consuming just two will take an individual close to the recommended daily sugar intake for adults, which stands at 50 grams. The pervasiveness of tanghulu shops near schools deepens the concerns. An exemplary case lies in an elementary school located in Eunpyeong district, as reported by The Kyunghyang Shinmun. With all four corners of the school’s vicinity having tanghulu shops, students at this school are likely to encounter tanghulus on their way to and from school every day. Amid the growing awarness of health implications, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Wangga Tanghulu was summoned to be a witness during a parliamentary audit on October 25 and pledged to make efforts to reduce the sugar content in their tanghulus. Nevertheless, a question still remains: Is society sufficiently aware of the dangers of excessive sugar consumption?

Meanwhile, the tanghulu discourse has expanded its scope to encompass consumer safety concerns. On November 3, it was revealed that Wangga Tanghulu was found to be violating food regulations, including failure to conduct self-quality examinations, as uncovered during a joint inspection conducted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). According to the MFDS, the “Signature Powders” produced by Wangga Tanghulu for distribution to franchise stores for tanghulu production had not undergone self-quality inspections from June last year until early October this year. The new findings added a layer of concern around tanghulu’s implications for public health and safety.

Is it sustainable?

South Korea has witnessed the explosive growth of tanghulu stores. This reflects a corresponding demand for this sweet treat as well as the allure of its low startup costs. According to Wangga Tanghulu, starting a store of around ten square meters can be achieved with an investment of approximately 80 million KRW, even after considering rental fees. However, there exist concerns that the tanghulu trend might follow the path of previous dessert trends, experiencing “flash-in-the-pan” popularity and fading away as newer trends emerge. Taiwanese castella cakes are one example, as they enjoyed a brief surge in popularity in 2016, but mostly closed down within a year as issues related to excessive use of cooking oil were highlighted on television. Professor Lee Eun Hee (Consumer Science, Inha University) states that “Tanghulu has gained popularity in a short period, but its popularity could wane any time if more competitive desserts emerge, as the dessert market experiences short trend cycles.”

Especially in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, the compensation paid to small business owners for shutdowns has reached around 45 billion KRW from January to August, nearly matching the total for the entire previous year, as reported by Jeonnam Ilbo. In this context, the self-employment sector faces its most challenging conditions, raising significant concerns. The possibility of more tanghulu shops experiencing a brief boom and subsequent closure poses a direct threat to the stability of local small businesses. This proliferation of tanghulu stores requires pondering on the long-standing issue of oversaturation within South Korea’s entrepreneurial ventures.

With the tanghulu craze proving the dynamic nature of dessert trends in South Korea, it is essential to address the negative implications it poses. Not only concerns on public health and local small businesses, but environmental issues are as well sparking concerns. Facility damage and an inflow of insects due to the skewers and sugar residues from tanghulus have even led to the emergence of “No-Tanghulu Zones” nearby. Additionally, Professor Lee believes the increasing number of tanghulu shops is detrimental to the aesthetics of the streets, which are determined by the appearance of shops. She expressed concerns that the widespread proliferation of tanghulu shops nationwide could “transform Korean streets into something resembling a Chinatown,” potentially leading to a loss of distinct cultural identity. How will Korea navigate these controversies? Professor Lee emphasizes the need for efforts to research and develop desserts that consumers will continue to seek, rather than being swayed by trends when starting businesses.