LONDON — What was billed as London’s largest Korean food festival quickly drew overwhelming crowds and equally long queues. Held over the May bank holiday weekend from May 1 to 4 near King’s Cross, Jung Festival brought together around 30 vendors, including hot food stalls, dessert teams and sponsored brands such as Jongga and Bibigo. The event was co-organized by Korean cultural platform Market Root, which hosts pop-up events showcasing Korean and Korean-inspired designers and brands, alongside food content creator Rollin Lee. The festival had already gained traction online before opening day. But as videos of packed walkways and hourlong queues began circulating on social media, the scale of interest became immediately clear. A timed entry system was introduced for the remaining days as additional crowd control measures, with slots quickly selling out, highlighting both the demand for the event and the challenges of managing it. Some visitors chose to leave before entering, while others who had traveled from outside London expressed frustration at the long waits, both to get in
