Why Is There a Korean Restaurant on NH44 in Andhra?

If you've driven the Bengaluru–Hyderabad run, you've almost certainly shot past a Korean restaurant on NH44 without registering it. It sits on the first floor of a building called Seoul Tower, at the Y Junction near Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Sathya Sai district — roughly 120 km from Kempegowda International Airport, about two hours if the trucks behave. A Team-BHP travelogue has put it back in circulation.

The place is called Time Korean Restaurant, and it isn't a themed novelty for tourists. Restaurant Guru lists it at 4.3 out of 5 from 197 reviews, which beats what most stops on that corridor manage. There's a Korean grocery on the ground floor. Upstairs, the banchan lands before you've properly sat down — small dishes of kimchi and seasoned anchovies, topped up without being asked.

The reason it exists is parked a few kilometres away. Kia's car factory at Penukonda employs about 12,800 people directly, ThePrint reports, with 25 ancillary units adding another 5,000 to 6,000, and more than 800 cars rolling out on a good day. Feeding the Korean managers who arrived with all that turned a dusty junction town into something you won't find anywhere else on this highway.

How a Korean Restaurant on NH44 Came to Be

Kia set up at Penukonda in 2017 on roughly 1,100 acres in the Gudipalli and Ammavarupalli industrial park, and its first India-built car was launched in August 2019, according to Deccan Herald. At least 350 South Koreans moved in on employment visas. Executives on multi-year postings don't switch to idli and sambar for a thousand straight days, so the food followed the jobs — guest-house kitchens first, then proper restaurants.

That's the short version of how a full Korean kitchen ends up hundreds of kilometres from the nearest metro's Koreatown. It's a supply-chain story before it's a food story. Where the engineers go, the kimchi fridge goes — and Time isn't alone. Shilra, another Korean restaurant nearby, shows up in the same listings.

The Town That Kia Rebuilt

Penukonda used to be known for its hill fort and Vijayanagara-era ruins. Now the signboards carry Hangul. ThePrint describes a 12.6-acre Korean township with more than 80 residential buildings, cosmetics shops trading as Seolful and Seoul Centre, and a Kia training centre that teaches conversational Korean in three months for ₹3,000. Landlords in nearby Puttaparthi let houses for under ₹15,000 a month, with some collecting ₹45,000.

What to Expect If You Pull In

Treat this as a meal, not a chai break. Korean service means a spread of small bowls plus a main, and it moves at its own pace. Budget 45 minutes to an hour, and don't schedule it 20 minutes before a flight out of Bengaluru.

The Dishes People Keep Ordering

Beef bulgogi, sweet-and-sour prawns and calamari tempura all feature in the Team-BHP account. Reviewers elsewhere point to japchae, ginseng ramen with chicken, and dumplings. Vegetarians should ask first — anchovy and fish stock hide in things that look plant-based, including some kimchi. If you've never eaten Korean food, bulgogi with rice is the gentlest way in.

The Grocery Shop on the Ground Floor

For Bengaluru households, the shop downstairs may be the stronger reason to stop. Stocking Korean staples in India usually means paying import margins on a delivery app. Here it's a counter you can walk up to, and the reported range covers:

• Jarred kimchi
• Seaweed sheets and snacks
• Instant and fresh noodles
• Gochujang, doenjang and other sauces
• A bakery selection

Carry an insulated bag if you're taking kimchi home in summer — it's a live ferment, and a hot boot on a four-hour drive will push it further than you want.

Where It Fits on the Drive

Northbound from Bengaluru, this lands at roughly the two-hour mark, which is about when people stop anyway. Southbound from Hyderabad it's much later in the day. Weekday lunch is when plant staff eat, so a weekend or a slightly off-peak slot gets you a calmer table.

The Friction That Came With the Boom

The Korean arrival wasn't frictionless. In 2019, Deccan Chronicle reported Anantapur police asking Korean nationals to follow local regulations, and a Change.org petition alleged Indians were being turned away from some Korean eateries near the plant. That history is worth knowing before anyone romanticises "Little Korea". Public reviews of Time, by contrast, come from Indian travellers describing warm service.

Should You Actually Stop?

If your idea of a highway meal is a fast paratha and back on the road, skip it. If you've been curious about Korean food and never paid Bengaluru's ₹2,000-a-head restaurant prices to find out, a Korean restaurant on NH44 is an unusually low-stakes place to try. Check current timings on Maps before you commit, since small-town kitchens close between services, and confirm card payment if you're carrying no cash.

The broader thing to watch is what happens as Kia expands its India footprint. Every new plant brings a few hundred expatriate families, and they bring their groceries with them. Penukonda is the clearest example yet of a factory redrawing what a highway town eats — and it probably won't be the last one on this map.