Nearly a week after Chinese milk tea brand Chagee opened its first three stores in Korea, the lines haven't got any shorter.
The brand launched Thursday in Sinchon, Yongsan and Gangnam. By 2 p.m. on opening day, the wait at the Sinchon location hit 188 minutes. The following afternoon, the in-app order queue at the Yongsan store registered an estimated 951-minute wait.
Chagee didn't arrive as a stranger. Months before the official launch, Ive's Jang Wonyoung was spotted sipping the brand's milk tea, and Korean fans rechristened it "Jang Wonyoung milk tea."
It's the latest chapter in a fast-moving consumer pivot toward Chinese flavors that has expanded from hot pot and mala tang back into tea and desserts.
For decades, "Chinese food" in Korea meant Korean-Chinese dishes: jjajangmyeon, jjamppong, tangsuyuk.
Authentic mainland fare felt distant. The shift started with mala tang. The build-your-own Sichuan spicy soup elbowed its way into mainstream lunch rotations in the late 2010s. Hot pot chains followed. Then tanghulu's brief, blazing turn as the city's snack-street obsession in 2023 confirmed what was already clear: Young Koreans were ready to seek out the source when it came to Chinese food.
Industry watchers say the current rush to Chinese brands comes after a generation of young Koreans grew up with access to Chinese social media like Red Note and the chance to visit China firsthand more easily under expanded visa-free travel between the two countries.
Mixue, Chabaidao and Heytea — all proven players back home — set up Korean shops before Chagee, paving the lane it just sprinted down.
The Korean operation of Haidilao, the Sichuan hot pot chain famous for its noodle-pulling shows, pulled in 117.7 billion won (about $84 million) in 2024, crossing the 100 billion won mark for the first time and nearly doubling its operating profit.
When Blackpink's Jisoo threw her birthday dinner there this year, its hip status was effectively sealed.
Competitor Yongga Revolving Hotpot opened its first Korean location in Gangnam in December 2024 and has since expanded to nine stores from Seoul to Daegu, Busan and Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
Mala tang chain Tang Huo Kung Fu, which entered Korea in 2013, now operates more than 560 outlets nationwide. Its revenue climbed 14.9 percent to 25.5 billion won in 2024.
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