KEMA Column
In Korea, the sheer speed of change in food trends is a culture in itself. Last year's star becomes this year's staple, and new faces are constantly filling cafe shelves. In the summer of 2026, what exactly is being eaten on the street corners of Seoul? We’re taking a break from hair care to go on a journey through the summer gourmet trends currently sweeping Korea. At the end, we’ll also explore a uniquely Korean aesthetic where "eating" and "tending to one's hair" become one and the same.
The city is turning green—The unstoppable matcha boom
Starting around the summer of 2025, the matcha boom—which coincides with a global trend—spread rapidly across Korea. With popular artists publicly declaring their love for matcha, the movement was further fueled as cafes added matcha lattes to their menus and food and beverage makers launched a series of new matcha-flavored products. Supermarket shelves were painted in green, and bold creations even emerged, such as matcha makgeolli, matcha highballs, and matcha cream tteokbokki.
In 2026, this trend has progressed even further, giving rise to the term "K-MATCHA," which emphasizes the origin and preparation methods of the tea. Matcha, which invites us to quietly enjoy its bitterness and aroma, has brought a more subdued tone to the world of Korean sweets, which had previously been competing over levels of intense sweetness.
A personal luxury: The cup bingsu
When it comes to Korean shaved ice, or "bingsu," the standard has always been a mountain of ice shared by a group. The "cup bingsu"—a single serving packed into a take-out cup—has changed that conventional wisdom. Major coffee chains have competed to release their own versions, and the style, which allows people to easily enjoy it while walking or at their desks, has gained strong support.
Behind this lies the firm establishment of "hon-bap" (dining alone) culture in Korea. Treats that were once meant to be shared are being redesigned into single-portion sizes. The cup bingsu is a symbolic sweet of this shift. With a rich variety of flavors like mango, roasted soybean powder (injeolmi), and milk tea, you are guaranteed to encounter the sight of someone walking with a cup bingsu in their hand if you wander through Seoul this summer.
The next star is purple—Ube and the evolution of frozen yogurt
Gaining prominence in the 2026 sweets scene is "ube," the purple yam native to the Philippines. Its pale lavender cream and soft-serve ice cream are incredibly photogenic, and dessert cafes in Seoul are adding ube lattes and ube cakes to their menus one after another. It is the latest face in the lineage of sweets that "surprise with color and texture," following in the footsteps of Dubai chocolate and tanghulu.
Meanwhile, frozen yogurt is seeing a resurgence in popularity, driven by the health-conscious movement. A combination topped with berries, bananas, and honey is a classic, favored for offering "sweetness without the guilt." With the flashy ube on one hand and healthy frozen yogurt on the other, these two directions are running parallel in the 2026 Korean sweets scene.
The world of noodles is also evolving—New-wave Kalguksu
It’s not just about sweets. In the culinary world, "kalguksu"—Korean-style knife-cut wheat noodles—is garnering attention. In addition to traditional clam broth or beef bone soup, "evolved" versions are appearing one after another, such as those topped generously with open-flame grilled chicken or using local ingredients, all with an eye toward social media appeal. The shop designs, which make it easy for solo diners to enter, also fit the current mood of the times.
And yet, in the heart of summer, there is Samgyetang
No matter how many new trends are born, Samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) remains at the center of the Korean summer during "Boknal." Boknal refers to the three hottest days of the summer (Chobok, Jungbok, and Malbok). On these days, people in Korea eat steaming hot Samgyetang while sweating, to nourish the physical strength depleted by the heat.
"Yi-yeol-chi-yeol"—the philosophy of "fighting heat with heat." Instead of relying only on cold things, one actively incorporates warm foods to harmonize the inside of the body. The soup, featuring a whole chicken stuffed with ginseng, jujubes, and garlic, is condensed with the wisdom of Korea, which has long observed the relationship between the seasons and the body.
To finish, Naengmyeon with a layer of ice
And one more thing essential to a Korean summer is Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles). In a clear, ice-cold broth lie chewy buckwheat noodles. The refreshing sweetness of pear and cucumber soaks gently into a body heated by the sun. Whether as a finish to Korean BBQ, the day after Samgyetang, or specifically visiting a long-standing shop just for it—along with the watermelon juice (subak-chue) sold at stalls—it is a flavor that can be called the quintessential landscape of a Korean summer.
No matter how much trends may change, the seasonal staples quietly remain. The richness of Korean food culture lies in the fact that the new and the traditional share the same table.
KEMA carries on the Korean aesthetic
The Korean culinary philosophy of "harmonizing from within" is the very same philosophy behind Korean hair care. Rather than just coating and fixing the surface, we deliver what the hair needs to the inside, rebuilding it from the core. KEMA’s dedication to delivering restorative ingredients to the deepest layers of the hair using advanced liposome technology is rooted in this aesthetic—one of order, balance, and harmony.
Whether you are walking through Seoul with a cup bingsu in hand or indulging in a Korean mood at home in Japan, your hair is exposed to the summer environment more than you might realize. Just like the delicious things you choose to eat, please choose "what works from within" for your hair.
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