Sitting around a sizzling grill, enjoying drinks with friends, and great food are all hallmarks of what makes a Korean barbeque dining experience so popular in Calgary and many other major cities.

Korilla on 17th Avenue brings an authentic experience to our city, taking a piece of Seoul and putting it here, showing how far Korean culture has come in the city. On May 16, Korilla Korean BBQ opened their one-of-a-kind rooftop BBQ area named OKTOP. The restaurant had its opening on Oct. 16 of offering Korean BBQ and karaoke to its patrons. The restaurant is the result of the major success that HANKKI Korean Street food has seen with seven total locations, two of them located in Banff and Cochrane.

The look and feel of the location is something more like one would experience in Korea. Round metal tables and retractable telescopic fans above the table grills. They even have karaoke rooms on their basement level. The appearance of this kind of business in Calgary is a testament to how prolific Korean culture has become in the city

“So we bring everything from Korea. There are a lot of guests who have already visited Korea and then when they come here they can feel like ‘oh, I’m in Korea right now, in Seoul’,” said restaurant owner Simon Park.

The rise of Korean culture and food in Calgary

The opening of so many Korean restaurants is a testament to the rise in popularity of, not only Korean food, but Korean culture as a whole. Building exponentially, since the 2012 viral hit Gangnam Style by PSY, the popularity of Korean media and culture has captivated western audiences with anything from food to Hollywood.

Calgary has been no stranger to the viral sensations coming from South Korea. In 2021, people were selling just the box from BTS McDonald’s meals on Facebook Marketplace and Squid Game halloween costumes walked down Stephen Avenue.

Linda Garson is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Culinaire Magazine, and the creator of Vine & Dine, which are wine pairing dinners hosted since 2005 in collaboration with Calgary restaurants.

“I ran Vine & Dine at Roy Oh’s restaurant, ANJU, when it was in a little house on Ninth Street where there is now, funnily enough, a Korean restaurant. I’m not sure what year that would be but it was probably 2008 or 9. Roy was just a kid starting out. Now he’s a superstar. But I ran events with him and it was new to everybody then. Nobody knew what to expect of Korean food,” said Garson.

It wasn’t that long ago that things like gochujang (red pepper paste), and kimchi were only available from a couple of specialty stores in Calgary. Families would mail ingredients or bring them themselves by plane or boat before that. Now it’s hard not to see these ingredients incorporated in some way in the modern restaurants downtown.

Garson said fusion foods, which combine different cuisines, were a huge help in bringing Korean flavours to the mainstream. Taking less familiar flavours and using Western food as the base makes it extremely approachable. Local chefs Roy Oh from Roy’s Korean Kitchen, and Jinhee Lee of Jinbar have used fusion to great effect, a true keystone to their success.

In 2024, people enjoy traditional Korean food and dining experiences at places like Korilla and Han Corea. Simon Park said that the BBQ ventilation is the same kind you’ll find in Korea, and required a lot of work to get approval from the city. The system ventilates air more efficiently than traditional North American systems capable of lowering closer to the cooking surface.

“But don’t we love barbecuing? Don’t we love trying all these flavours? We’ve got sweet and salty and sour, umami and acidic and all the flavours that Korean food brings in,” said Garson.

“I think with the restaurants, people want to go to them because it’s not a cuisine most people could make it home easily or know how to if you are not from that part of the world.”

Food as a vehicle for representation and acceptance

It’s very common for Asian Canadians to have stories of feeling different because of the contents of their lunchbox. When kids are growing up acceptance is a big deal and food was something that could make the difference in a kid’s lunch hour.

“I came here when I was 10 years old. Back then, I mean you’ve heard this story before, but you go to elementary school, you open your fried kimchi rice, and people are like, what the hell is that?” Tony Jinyoung Choi, president of the Calgary Korean Association, told LWC.

Calgary’s Korean population has also grown. In the 2011 census the population of people whose mother tongue was Korean in Calgary was 7,405. That number had grown to 10,205 in the 2021 census.

“We don’t have to explain it anymore. When I would put recipes in the magazine, sometimes we have to explain, but not so much anymore. If we’d put, originally 12 years ago, sambal oelek, we would probably have to put chili garlic sauce in brackets or available at your Asian supermarket. You don’t need to do that at all now,” said Garson.

Choi said the unfamiliarity with Korean cuisine has changed.

“Now that idea of, ‘well, this is weird, I haven’t seen this before so I’m going to stay away from it’. That perspective has changed into, ‘I’ve seen this before and it’s so prevalent already within our community. I want to try that too,'” he said.

So I definitely see a significant difference because of the increase in popularity of Korean culture. It’s just nice to see our culture being embraced here in Calgary,” said Choi.

Choi also said seeing these ingredients and flavours appear in trendy spots around the city isn’t seen as appropriation to him, and that he sees it as Calgary taking things and integrating them into the city.

Will it stay or will it go?

“I think it’s on the rise. I don’t think it’s plateaued by any means yet. I think we’ve got a lot more to come,” said Garson.

With Korean restaurants and culture growing in Calgary, it makes one wonder how long it will be around and if it’s just a trend at the moment. Food trends come and go all the time like poké bowls or acai berry smoothies.

“I think it’s up to us Koreans and the Calgary Korean Association. It’s part of our responsibility and role to ensure that Korean culture is integrated into the city of Calgary,” said Choi.

The Calgary Korean Association spends a lot of time each year organizing the Korean Day festival, to feature their food and culture to Calgarians. Celebrating those things doesn’t have to come with the rising and falling of trends, and is just part of being in a multicultural city like Calgary. This year’s festival will take place on Aug. 11, 2024 and features the final of their KPOP dance competition.

Korilla Korean BBQ will have its OKTOP rooftop open from Thursday to Sunday the whole summer for any that want to try the new experience they’ve brought to the city.