Korean fans were eating up his sausage videos. So he came to Seoul

"We need your sausage in Korea."

Comments written in Korean have been filling the Instagram page of Sosij, a British sausage-maker in Bristol, England, whose videos of freshly cooked sausages have caught the attention of a Korean audience. Within months, founder and chef Alasdair Clark, 43, brought some of his creations to Seoul for a limited pop-up in November.

At the center of the online sensation is Clark's distinctive way of presenting his sausages: pulling them straight from the oven, snapping them open by hand and revealing their juicy filling. The sound of the casing breaking and the cross-section of each oozing sausage make viewers crave them all the more.

Clark traced the first wave of interest from Korea to a video featuring a cheeseburger sausage that he posted about four months ago.

"I make sausages and dishes from all around the world, and bizarrely it was a cheeseburger sausage that I think caught some people's attention," the sausage-maker told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. "That particular one, it was very cheesy. There's pickles inside, so it's quite visual and attractive."

"These Korean comments just started popping up, and I was thinking, like, what's this?"

Although his videos had attracted attention online before, the response from Korea was different in its persistence, according to Clark.

"This was different. This wasn't just one post. There's lots of interest and, you know, where can we get this? And then sort of from there for the next few posts that I was making, the following kept on happening," he said.

The growing interest eventually led to manufacturers and marketing professionals approaching him, eventually connecting Clark with Matt Slonim, a Korea market-entry consultant, and Salt House, a Korean artisanal charcuterie deli brand.

Rather than simply importing finished products from the UK, the collaboration involved sourcing ingredients in Korea and producing the sausages locally. The approach reflects how Clark operates his business in Britain, where he works on a small scale and sources ingredients locally.

"In England, my business is on a farm. It's in the countryside, and it's quite a small business," he said. The business is supported by a small team of chefs, while Clark leads recipe development and experiments with new combinations.

The idea behind Sosij goes beyond fun, eye-catching videos.

Clark comes from more than 15 years of experience working in professional kitchens, from local restaurants to Michelin-level establishments. The experience gave him opportunities to work with different ingredients and develop an understanding and craftsmanship of bringing together different flavors to work together.

For him, sausage is a format through which he can re-create the components of an entire dish. His creations have included flavors inspired by pizza, blueberry waffles, Texas hot links, lemongrass pork and prawn with Thai chili sauce, Cajun peaches and more.

"Developing a dish as a chef is one thing. Developing a dish into a sausage is a completely different thing," he said.

The process involves translating the ingredients and flavor profile of a dish into a different form. Clark has described the sausage itself as a vessel for bringing different elements together, allowing the flavor to change with each bite.

"Each mouthful can be a different flavor," he said. "I want people to have fun and enjoy it and share a smile and laugh."

Korean flavors have also featured in Sosij's collection over the years. Previous offerings include sausages inspired by Korean barbecue, gochujang jeyuk (spicy pork) and bulgogi. The bulgogi sausage, Clark said, was the second sausage he ever made.

His interest in Korean ingredients is part of a broader preference for experimenting with different types of spices.

"I've always been into different types of chilies, and for me, the Mexican ones are great when they are smoked, but they are very spicy. Thai chilies are very spicy."

"There's something about the gochugaru (powdered Korean red pepper) and the chilies here," he added. "It's a different sensation on the tongue and the palate. It's a very warming and calm kind of spice."

The three flavors selected for the Korea pop-up stores are gochujang and jeyuk, chicken basil mozzarella and bacon cheddar jalapeno.

They represent only a small part of Sosij's broader collection.

Clark has developed over 229 recipes since January this year, continually testing and selecting combinations for sausage enthusiasts. The recipes brought to Korea were chosen to introduce the brand's approach to an audience that had followed along online -- and to make a great first impression.

Clark sees the pop-up stores as an initial step. He said he was open to working with restaurants and other establishments anywhere that share his views on sausages and the fun experience that comes along with enjoying them.

Rather than rushing to expand, however, he wants to build a sustainable presence and see where the response leads in Korea.

"Just one step at a time," he said. "Anything can happen."

The first online sale of the sausages in Korea sold out in 39 seconds on Wednesday. A pop-up shop at Salt House Deli in Seoul's Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, is scheduled for Thursday, followed by another at Magpie Brewery on Jeju Island on Saturday.