Bulgogi (Korean-traditional barbequed beef) is one of the most popular Korean traditional foods. China, the world's most populous country, is a huge market that has the biggest market potential in the world. The purpose of the study was to understand the preference of Chinese consumers for bulgogi products in comparison to that of Korean consumers. Sensory characteristics of bulgogi samples that differed in levels of main marinating ingredients were examined using descriptive analysis and results were connected to hedonic information collected from Chinese (n=72) and Korean (n=76) participants. Bulgogi samples were prepared in ready-to-heat form. Chinese consumers' overall acceptability was negatively affected by sweet taste, and green onion, black pepper, cooked onion, and sesame flavors. Chinese consumers tended to report that tested bulgogi samples were 'too sweet', while Korean consumers thought that sweetness levels were 'just-right'. The results implied the influence of cultural expectation playing a role in consumer acceptability.

Bulgogi (Korean-traditional barbequed beef) is one of the most globally well-known Korean foods. Though various attempts have been made to promote bulgogi, studies are limited understanding mostly to US consumers or foreigners who reside in Korea. China, the world's most populous country, has the biggest market potential in the world. The purpose of this study was to understand reasons of liking or disliking bulgogi products in Chinese consumers who reside in China in comparison to Korean consumers. The bulgogi used in this study differed in its main marinating ingredients. Check-all-thatapply (CATA) questionnaire was used to collect the reasons why one liked or disliked the given bulgogi product. CATA result showed that even for the same product, Korean and Chinese consumers liked or disliked it for different reasons. In particular, unlike Koreans, Chinese consumers reported sweet taste and garlic flavor as reasons for disliking the samples with high amounts of sugar and garlic, respectively. This seemed to be the result of differences in familiarity of consumers to certain tastes and flavors. The results imply the influence of culture in consumer preferences.