South Korea Monday launched its first promotional body dedicated to promoting recognition and popularity of its foods abroad, the culture ministry said.
The pan-government body _ comprised of 36 food experts, officials and CEOs including Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong and Culture Minister Yu In-chon _ will work on revising the law and setting up stable business structures to foster Korean restaurants, chefs and food experts overseas, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Detailed tasks and plans by the body will soon be announced, the culture ministry said in a press release, adding it will focus on developing tourism programs related to Korean food.
Based largely on vegetables and having low fat, Korean food has been earning increasing fame in the West with approximately 1,400 Korean restaurants in the United States, 1,700 in Japan, 2,500 in China and 170 in Europe. But these figures are still meager, compared with 10,000 Japanese restaurants in the United States and nearly 25,000 globally.
The South Korean government hopes to increase the number of Korean restaurants abroad to 40,000 by 2017.