"Hallyu," or the Korean Wave, in Japan dates back to the immense local popularity of the Korean drama "Winter Sonata" in 2002. Since then, South Korean cultural content has made a firm and strong landing in Japan with pop music, the film industry and food.

The most recent proof was the Japan Gold Disc Awards on Monday where K-pop groups swept the top prizes, including Best Asian Artist, Album of the Year and Best Music Video.

Korean food companies are following the path, recording fast growth in Japan.

Nongshim Co., most recognized for its ramyeon (instant noodles) brands, has successfully set its foot in Japan whose own version of the food, called ramen, was known first internationally. The South Korean company said its sales last year in Japan jumped 33 percent, the highest among its overseas markets. Nongshim had opened its Tokyo office in 1981.

CJ Cheiljedang said it grabbed a market share of over 10 percent in Japan for drinking vinegar. The market size for drinking vinegar in Japan is estimated at 90 billion won ($79.44 million), about double of South Korea, giving the company more potential for sales growth.

The younger food brands are also finding their way into Japan.

Sulbing, who came up with Koreanized snow cones, drew a line longer than 100 meters of people waiting to enter its Tokyo store on opening day in June last year. The company opened another Japanese store in Fukuoka early this month.

"Korean snow cones have become popular in Japan after they appeared in a number of Korean dramas," a company official said.

"Japanese snow cones tend to be simple, but Sulbing offers variety."

Goobne, a local chicken brand popular for broiling the meat, recently set up its first Japanese store in the heart of Tokyo.

"Snow," a camera application affiliated with South Korea's leading Internet portal Naver, was named the most popular service among Japanese teens last year. Line, a mobile messaging service also affiliated with Naver, reached 66 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of last year. After being listed in the Japanese stock market in July last year, Line hit an operational profit of 1.6 million Japanese yen in the fourth quarter, close to double from a year before. (Yonhap)