Korean food is rising in popularity around the world
Public Relations Division
2022.07.04
227
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Minister Chung Hwang-keun, MAFRA) and the Korean Food Promotion Institute (Chairman Lim Kyung-sook) announced that they will send a total of 25 Korean food experts to 21 institutions in 17 countries this year to promote Korean food and raise its awareness around the world.
In 2019, with the aim of enhancing the image of Korean food, it expanded the scope of the program to jointly develop and sell Korean food menus at hotels, and open Korean food courses at colleges with 19 organizations in 18 countries. The program, however, was temporarily suspended in 2020 as foreign travel bans were imposed due to the spread of COVID-19. In 2021, only professionals were sent to 5 countries, reducing the scope further.
This year, the project starts at full speed to raise the recognition of Korea food as the step-by-step recovery of daily routines begins and the Korean wave “Hallyu” regains popularity. The dispatched food experts will operate Korean food training and experience courses in cooperation with overseas organizations such as diplomatic missions and Korean Cultural Centers abroad, educational institutions such as colleges, and hotels.
The Korean food professionals to be sent to overseas organizations including diplomatic missions abroad will hold promotion events of Korean food including cooking demonstrations and experiences for around two months at the occasion of commemorative events in the respective country. At educational institutions such as colleges, certified Korean food instructors will conduct Korean food lectures for one month or more. At hotels, Korean food professional chefs will deliver trainings for menu development, cooking and practices for about two weeks by forming a team of up to three people.
The recruitment was open for Korean food professionals from March 18 to April 18, 2022. Out of 68 applications received, 25 professionals were finally selected.
After the selection, eight personnel were allocated to overseas organizations in eight countries, five to educational institutions in five countries including Brazil and India, and 16 to hotels in eight countries including Spain and Jordan. On June 14, the Korean Food Promotion Institute conducted orientation training for the food experts to enhance capabilities by each field, improve business understanding, and guide precautions for the overseas stay.
The overseas assignment has started in June this year in Bahrain (Embassy in Manama), Thailand (the Korean Cultural Center in Bangkok), Jordan (Fairmont Hotel in Amman), etc. Moving forward, more Korean food professionals will be sent sequentially during the agreed period.