59th Hansik Globalization Body Planned
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
A private foundation will be established this year as part of Korea's campaign to globalize homegrown cuisine, or hansik, Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Chang Tae-pyong said Tuesday.
"From next year, academic experts, entrepreneurs and government officials will join forces for a comprehensive and systematic drive to globalize local foods," Chang said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times at his office on the occasion of the paper's 59th anniversary which falls on Nov. 1
"The foundation will be in charge of charting strategies and implementing programs to make home-grown cuisine popular worldwide," he said.
This year was a preparatory period for promoting Korean food, according to Chang.
He said the campaign was generally satisfactory as foreigners have begun to appreciate the uniqueness of local cuisine.
From next year, a more concrete campaign will start, including commercializing Korean foods and helping local firms and restaurants advance overseas.
"Unifying English names and recipe descriptions of Korean dishes and developing more hansik brands will be part of our priorities next year," Chang said.
There is, however, growing concern over consistency as several offices are currently involved in the campaign simultaneously. For example, English terminology for several local dishes is different in publications issued by different government agencies, the minister added.
The foundation will unify the different English names of Korean foods so that foreigners are not confused, he said.
It will also be in charge of developing infrastructure, implementing educational programs, and supporting research and development projects to globalize hansik and traditional liquors.
Chang said one of the key projects will be the standardization and quality-upgrade of local foods.
"Standardizing recipes and ingredients is essential for re-creation and quality upgrades," the minister said. The standardization will expedite globalization. In other words, dishes cooked in a certain way with standardized ingredients can be referred to as hansik, whoever cooks them wherever worldwide."
Research has been under way for standardization. Several state-run institutes have been working to analyze basic ingredients of Korean cuisine, including "kimchi" and several basic sauces like soy sauce, "doenjang" (soybean paste) and "gochujang" (chili paste).
So far, the promotion has been focused on creating a positive atmosphere for Korean food, but from now on cultural elements will be added to global marketing of local foods, the minister said.
"Culture is inseparable from cuisine. The development of interior design and tableware fit for Korean food is essential," Chang said.
"I realize changes in small details will make a difference in creating a unique Korean atmosphere. It is an important issue in overseas promotion. It will be one of the main themes for next year's Korea Food Expo exhibition," he said.
Much of the budget will be spent on helping as many Korean restaurants as possible to open overseas, and on marketing local foods, he added.