A home away from home

Cafes and restaurants use billboards featuring Korean stars like Lee Min-ho (above) to draw customers. [Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily]

One area of Beijing is gaining a reputation for 'Seoul food' thanks to its Korean population.

If you take the subway to Wudaokou station on Line 13, you'll find yourself in an area bursting with vibrant South Korean pop culture.

Billboards featuring Kim Woo-bin are displayed on the subway platform, showing the popular Korean actor advertising KFC's new product - the kimchi chicken burger.

At Tous Les Jours, a Korean bakery franchise near the subway entrance, photos show another Kim - Kim Soo-hyun, a heartthrob for many Chinese women - promoting the bakery's mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and inside, posters of Psy, the Korean pop star, are used to sell the Korean food brand Bibigo.

Mini 'global village'

Located in the northwest of the Chinese capital, Wudaokou is surrounded by some of China's top universities, including Peking, Tsinghua, and Beijing Language and Culture University. Not only is the area a hub for Chinese college students, but it's also quickly becoming a mini "global village" as an increasing number of students from different countries arrive in China.

Young Koreans account for the largest number of overseas students in Beijing, and the latest figures from the South Korean embassy show that about 63,000 Koreans are currently studying in China. As a result, many establishments in Wudaokou have Korean characteristics, including hair salons, clothing stores, restaurants, cafes, stationary and music outlets.

Korean celebrities are trendsetters, and the Korean students in Wudaokou dress with a certain sense of style.