When eating kimchi stew at a food court, you usually have to mentally prepare yourself: it's going to taste completely different from the authentic Korean kimchi stew you have in mind—even though it's called "Korean Kimchi Stew." That's the funny thing about it. Of course, a tiny fraction of places actually get it right, but most just keep the name while serving something distinctly Taiwanese at heart. In fact, it's not just food courts—plenty of standalone eateries do the exact same thing.
Sure, you could argue it's been modified to suit local tastes, which makes it taste so Taiwanese. But would changing the name to "Taiwanese-Style Kimchi Stew" really hurt sales that much? It makes you wonder! Or do people just fall for the label, where having "Korean" in the title simply draws in a bigger crowd? If you don't go in expecting authentic Korean kimchi jjigae, it actually doesn't taste bad—it's just lighter in flavor, has a bit more soup broth, and features ingredients that feel much more like a traditional hot pot. Aside from the kimchi tasting suspiciously like that one famous canned brand, it has almost nothing in common with the real Korean version.
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