A four-day pop-up at Nakano Marui brings 22 Korean food producers to Tokyo from October 26 to 29, 2026. The range spans traditional sweets and rice snacks, fermented sauces, tea, vinegar and oils, offering several entry points into Korean food culture.
This event focuses on items related to Korean traditional food quality certification. It is hosted by the Korea Agricultural and Fishery Products Distribution Corporation, managed by the Certified Items Export Council, and operated by NOAH. Certification and traditional manufacturing methods are clues to understanding the product, but they do not mean that all products have health benefits. When purchasing, you should still go back to the packaging label and personal dietary needs.
Products include hangwa sweets, rice snacks, kimchi, fermented sauces, tea, vinegar and sesame oil.
If you are coming into contact with Korean dim sum for the first time, you can check out these categories first.
Traditional hangwa sweets and rice-based snacks offer an accessible starting point. The planned range includes honey yakgwa, crisp yugwa, nurungji toasted-rice snacks and rice cakes. Small packages from some producers make it possible to compare styles without buying several large gift boxes.
When choosing, you can first compare whether refrigeration is required, shelf life, allergens such as nuts and wheat, and whether the gift box is convenient to carry during the journey. The storage conditions of rice cakes, crispy snacks and syrups are not the same; this article has not verified the complete ingredients of each product, and it is not appropriate to rely on appearance alone to purchase for your companions.
Korean traditional fermented sauce vat and courtyard landscape · Photo: 담다 2026 韓國傳統食品／活動主辦單位Product description of Korean-style sauce and lettuce-wrapped meat · Photo: 담다 2026 韓國傳統食品／活動主辦單位
Fermented sauces and teas extend shopping to daily dining tables
Another group focuses on fermented soybean pastes, including Korean doenjang, soy sauce, gochujang and cheonggukjang. These products will have different flavors depending on the raw materials, fermentation methods and aging conditions. They can be used for soup seasoning, dipping sauce or mixed rice according to normal cooking habits.
The planned range also includes traditional tea, fermented vinegar, sikhye (a sweet rice drink), rice syrup, sesame oil and perilla-seed oil. Tea, jam and grain snacks offer alternatives for those who prefer less spicy food. Ginseng and balloon-flower-root products should be understood through their food labels, without assuming medical benefits.
Kimchi product promotion picture · Photo: 담다 2026 韓國傳統食品／活動主辦單位Korean food combinations such as seaweed and oil products · Photo: 담다 2026 韓國傳統食品／活動主辦單位
Think clearly about the restrictions on cross-border souvenirs first
The Nakano pop-up continues the exchange activities launched in 2024 and was held at the Keio Department Store in Shinjuku last year. This transfer to Marui is suitable for focusing the itinerary around Nakano; detailed daily business hours are not listed in this article, so you should still check shopping mall and event announcements before arriving.
If you want to bring food back to Taiwan, you must confirm the ingredients and quarantine regulations one by one. Just because you bought it in a Japanese mall does not mean you can bring it into the country. A more practical approach is to keep complete packaging and ingredient information, and when encountering products containing meat, plants or other controlled raw materials, check official regulations before making payment.
Korean fruit, rice and cereal snacks puzzle · Photo: 담다 2026 韓國傳統食品／活動主辦單位
Questions and answers
Has the pop-up started?
As of October 20, it has not yet started. The event is scheduled to be held on the 2nd floor of Nakano Marui from October 26 to 29.
How many businesses are there?
The event lists 22 producers, covering traditional sweets, fermented sauces, kimchi, tea and other foods.
Are all products suitable as overseas souvenirs?
not necessarily. Storage conditions, ingredients and entry restrictions vary. Please check each item individually and cannot make general assumptions.
