The country's No. 4 city Daegu hosted the fourth Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake) Festival from May 4-5. As the number of schools in the city rose exponentially from the 1960s to the 70s, eateries specializing in the dish in front of schools and storied franchise with decades of history emerged to make Daegu the nation's tteokbokki mecca, according to the city's Buk-gu District. (Lee Kyoung Mi and Buk-gu Office of Daegu)

By Lee Kyoung Mi

DGB Daegu Bank Park in Daegu's Buk-gu District on May 4 at 11 a.m. This is the site of the fourth Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake) Festival in the nation's No. 4 city, with the activity and action there surprising.

The first surprise was the scorching sun in early May, befitting the city's nickname "Daefrica," a portmanteau of the terms "Daegu" and "Africa" due to the hot weather. Then came the large number of tteokbokki fans despite the festival just starting, and some 30 businesses specializing in the food created "tteokbokki heaven" at the venue.

The Tteokbokki Festival in Daegu featuring the spicy rice cake is packed from afternoon to late night with lines of hungry fans of the food. (Lee Kyoung Mi)

Over time, lines formed in front of booths selling tteokbokki, with the longest reaching 60 people. Wondering just how tasty the food is to make people endure such a long wait, a Korea.net staff writer quickly joined the longest queue. 

Early on, she experienced "happy" hesitation in wondering whether to get tteokbokki in gochujang (red pepper paste) or jjajang (black bean sauce) or miltteok (springy wheat rice cake), ssaltteok (chewy rice cake), ojingeo twigim (fried squid) or sundae (blood sausage). 

Long lines formed to buy ojingeo twigim (fried squid), tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) in gochujang (red pepper paste) and wheat tteokbokki in jjajang (black bean sauce). All participating businesses at the Tteokbokki Festival in Daegu used reusable plates and cups, and facilities were neatly categorized and run like places for disposing of food waste and trash and collecting cups and plates. (Lee Kyoung Mi)

After buying her food, the writer headed to a table. About 2,000 chairs were available, and visitors could also rent a mat or a tent to comfortably eat on the lawn. 

As soon as people left a table after eating, on-site staff quickly cleaned it to make every table spotless.

The festival used reusable cups and plates to minimize trash. Concerns arose over the use of such containers but no problems arose. Banners hanging everywhere had the names and contact information of safety staff. The measures prepared for swift response to any emergency or issue felt natural but were still impressive.

Foreign visitors on May 4 munch on the featured food at the Tteokbokki Festival in Daegu. (Buk-gu Office of Daegu)

The office of Daegu's Buk-gu District said about 130,000 people visited the festival over its two-day period, including those from nationwide and many from abroad.

In March last year, the U.S. broadcast network NBC in the article "Tteokbokki takeover: America's next food obsession is the ultimate Korean comfort food" shed light on the food.

Tteokbokki is grabbing global attention as the "comfort food" of Koreans. The graph below contains the ratings of the event of the Korea.net writer who visited the festival. 

* Korea.net's recommendations for enjoying the festival:

- Visiting the festival with a big group instead of just a few people is recommended for trying a wider variety of tteokbokki. A group divided into teams to secure seats and another to buy the food makes it more convenient. Expect large crowds early on a festival day as many even then arrive and look for seats.

- Booths with long lines do not have a monopoly on scrumptious fare. Less popular varieties of tteokbokki include a non-spicy version made with tomato sauce, a sweeter type with ripe persimmon and royal tteokbokki made with soy sauce.

- Daegu is infamous for hot weather and its nickname "Daefrica" is well deserved. So going to the festival after sunset is highly recommended for those sensitive to the hot sun and heat. Things at the event are flashier at night than in the afternoon, but be warned that delicious varieties of tteokbokki can run out before night falls.