Ganjang-gejang, a soy sauce marinated crab dish known among Koreans as a "rice thief" for how well it pairs with rice, has been named the world's top crab dish.
According to foreign media reports Thursday, global food magazine TasteAtlas ranked Korea's ganjang-gejang first in its "World's Best Crab Dishes" list released last month. The dish scored 4.2 out of 5. The magazine described ganjang-gejang as "a Korean dish made by marinating crab in seasoning," explaining that when made with a soy sauce base it is called "ganjang-gejang," and when a spicy seasoning is used it is called "yangnyeom-gejang." It added that the dish "is most often eaten with rice."
Ganjang-gejang is a traditional Korean dish made by soaking blue crab in soy sauce boiled with various ingredients and aging it. The savory taste of the soy sauce and the sweet crab meat pair well with rice, earning it the nickname "rice thief." It is also a premium dish sold at specialty restaurants for around 50,000 won per serving.
Until now, the dish was considered polarizing among foreigners unfamiliar with the culture of eating raw crab. However, as interest in K-food overall has grown, more foreigners are seeking out gejang. According to data from the "33 National Food Tourism Content Items" released in 2024 by BC Card on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, foreigners visiting Korea purchased ganjang-gejang most often after chicken and Chinese food.
An analysis of detailed data on payments made by foreigners at restaurants in 15 regions found that payments at "chicken" and "Chinese restaurants" ranked highest, while traditional foods such as "ganjang-gejang," "gukbap," and "sundubu," which previously ranked low, rose in ranking. This is interpreted as a recent surge in foreign interest in unusual Korean foods.
K-Food Craze Sweeps In
Overseas interest in K-food overall is growing by the day. In the "2026 Overseas Hallyu Survey" (based on 2025) released in March by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, 69.7% of the 27,400 people across 30 countries who had experienced Korean cultural content responded positively to it. Respondents cited "food" (55.1%) as the most popular Hallyu field in their countries. The share who said they had actually experienced Korean food (78.0%) exceeded those for film (77.9%), drama (72.9%), and music (71.9%).
The share of Korean food in Hallyu spending by foreign tourists is also significant. According to the Korea Tourism Organization's "Korea Tourism Data Lab," "global Hallyu spending" in May was 1.413 trillion won, up 6.3% from the previous month (1.3287 trillion won). Compared with the same month a year earlier, it increased 73.7%. Global Hallyu spending refers to the amount calculated based on card spending records of foreign visitors to Korea, excluding sectors unrelated to tourism or outside the sphere of Hallyu culture, such as accommodations and transportation. By sector as of May, shopping accounted for the largest share at 39.1%, followed by "beauty and wellness" (21.1%), "fashion" (14.3%), "lifestyle food" (11.9%), "Korean food" (10.3%), and "night culture" (1.6%).
