ASEAN fair whets appetite for more

Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre Kim Young-sun, third from right, poses with ASEAN food and beverage products at “2015 ASEAN Fair” at Coex in Seoul on Nov. 18. From left, Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Rosli Haji Sabtu, ambassador of Brunei Darussalam; Khamsouay Keodalavong, ambassador of Lao PDR; Masataka Fujita, secretary general of the ASEAN-Japan Centre; Dato Rohana binti Ramli, ambassador of Malaysia; Suth Dina, ambassador of Cambodia; and Myo Thant Pe, charge d’Affairs of Myanmar. / Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre

10 member states show off unique food and culture in Korea

By Rachel Lee

The food and culinary culture of ASEAN member states attracted plenty of positive attention at a food fair in Seoul last week.

At the “2015 ASEAN Fair: Touch & Taste ASEAN” at Coex from Nov. 18-21, 100 companies, 70 delegations and performers from 10 ASEAN member states introduced their unique products, including packaged and processed foods and beverages.

The ASEAN-Korea Centre organized the event in conjunction with “Food Week Korea 2015.”

“This has been a year of unparalleled efforts to promote ASEAN on a large scale, where we bring together the promotion of the ASEAN food industry and ASEAN culture and tourism in one big event,” ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Young-sun said at the opening ceremony.

“Not only will this event play an important role in promoting economic cooperation between ASEAN countries and Korea, it will also promote ASEAN as an attractive tourism destination with unique and enriched cultural diversity.”

Regional representatives — including Brunei Darussalam ambassador Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Rosli Haji Sabtu, Lao PDR ambassador Khamsouay Keodalavong and Malaysian ambassador Dato Rohana binti Ramli — attended the event.

Indonesian premix food producer Pondan, a family business founded in 1976, is one of the companies eager to enter the Korean market.

With more than 100 premix varieties of puddings, ice-creams, cakes and coffee, Pondan has made its mark in Europe, the United States, China and Hong Kong.

“There is a lot of potential in the Korean market because consumers do not have as many choices of premix products as we can offer,” said Pondan representative Roy Knijn.

“We offer reasonable prices and at the same time, we use quality ingredients in our products. For example, we use the same chocolate as Oreo.”

Among Pondan’s many products to be launched here is ginger coffee, which contains 20 percent ginger extract.

“Korean consumers drink lots of coffee, so this type of mix with a new taste will be popular I think,” he said.

Healthful, A Thai company that makes healthy, natural food products and beverages aims to market healthy light snacks, including durian chips.

For example, Nice Dream, a relaxation drink that contains rosehip syrup, acai berries and hydrolyzed milk protein, is designed to help people sleep better.

“We are starting our overseas business this year, and Korea is one of the important markets that we are trying to enter,” said chief executive officer Chanoknun Sakornwimon.

“Quite a lot of people including myself cannot eat durian because of its bad smell, but with our chips, you will be able to enjoy the fruit that contains abundant nutrition.”

Apart from the product exhibition, business meetings were arranged between exhibitors and potential Korean buyers.

Tourism booths were also on hand to promote the region’s destinations. And promotional showcased various beverages from member states with barista demonstrations and coffee tasting.

Through the event, the ASEAN-Korea Center aims to promote ASEAN as a single tourism destination.

The performers— including the Brunei Darussalam Lively Dancers Group, the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre from Vietnam and Khmer Artists Association from Cambodia— presented traditional contemporary cultural shows.

“In order to foster more economic cooperation between Korea and ASEAN, our centre held the ‘Trade Facilitation Seminar on the Food Industry between ASEAN and Korea’ for two days this month,” Kim said.

“It was an interactive workshop, providing ASEAN participants an opportunity to understand more about the Korean import regulations and quarantine procedures of food products.”

The ASEAN-Korea Centre is an intergovernmental organization established in 2009 to promote exchanges among Korea and the 10 ASEAN Member States.