John Paul Vergonia, owner of Hanbap, a Korean lunchbox delivery venture in Pangasinan Province, the Philippines, shows off a packaged lunch set on July 26. (Hanbap)
By <font color="#0070c0">Lee Hana</font>
Korean lunchboxes have become available for delivery in Pozorrubio, a small Philippine town of around 70,000 people. What's even cooler is the fact that these neat little lunchboxes, proudly labeled "Hanbap" in Hangeul, were created by a Pozorrubio native, John Paul Vergonia.
Hanbap opened for business this past March in Pangasinan Province, northwestern Philippines. It was while on a trip to Korea that Vergonia was struck with the idea for his new business.
Vergonia, who writes for the Korea Blog as one of Korea.net's honorary reporters, visited Korea for the first time last fall and boarded a KTX express train headed from Seoul to Busan. En route, he experienced another first: a Korean lunchbox. He decided then and there to take this idea back to his hometown.
A Hanbap lunchbox includes rice accompanied by kimchi, an assortment of side dishes and a choice of bulgogi beef or marinated chicken. Based on his travels across Korea, Vergonia set himself the goal of serving food that is "visually appealing, colorful and deliciously healthy." In an effort to create the most authentic taste possible, he decided to take over the kitchen himself. To his surprise, the lunchboxes were met with overwhelming responses from friends and family.
Hanbap has a strong following among students and young professionals. Priced between PHP 95 and PHP 115 -- between KRW 2,100 and KRW 2,500 -- they are affordable for young customers, not to mention a deliverable option. The fact that anything Korea-related is hugely popular in the Philippines, even in the smallest of towns, is also contributing to the buzz.
John Paul Vergonia, owner of Hanbap, poses for a picture at the Yi Sun-sin Park in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Vergonia was invited to Korea by Korea.net in October 2016 to take part in a trip for Korea.net's honorary reporters. (Jeon Han)
Hanbap currently sends out around 120 lunchboxes per month. At the moment, Vergonia only takes advance orders Monday through Friday and only for lunch. Plans are in the works to expand the menu to include dinner and weekends as well.
"Thanks to the 'Hallyu' phenomenon -- the growth in popularity of Korean pop music, TV shows and movies in East Asia and elsewhere -- Korean food is a good investment for a small startup in the Philippines," said Vergonia. "My goal is to grow Hanbap into a Korean restaurant chain and a family business. I want to serve not just enticing lunchboxes but authentic Korean dishes for people in my hometown."
hlee10@korea.kr