Top chefs help turn Biyang Island into culinary destination

Customers savor specialty dishes prepared by star chefs at a seaside eatery on Biyang Island. Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

A small, crescent-shaped volcanic island off the coast of Jeju Island drew crowds far larger than its resident population over the weekend, as a constellation of celebrity chefs and local business owners joined forces to transform the remote outpost into an unlikely laboratory for sustainable food tourism.

The state-run Korea Tourism Organization said Monday that its two-day culinary festival, “A Savory Collaboration on Biyang Island,” attracted roughly 1,600 visitors to the tiny volcanic outpost over the weekend. Held as part of a broader “May by the Sea” campaign, the initiative aimed to breathe economic life into a community grappling with a rapidly aging population and the ecological pressures of climate change.

The centerpiece of the event paired seven prominent chefs and culinary creators with seven of Biyang Island’s modest local restaurants. Unlike typical food festivals, the objective was structural preservation: creating permanent, upscale menu items built entirely around the island’s seasonal ingredients, ensuring the new dishes would remain available to travelers long after the tents were packed.

Among the participants were the high-profile chefs Kim Do-yoon, Oh Se-deuk and Nishimura Takahito, alongside the popular seaweed rice roll creator Gimbap Daejang. Working alongside village cooks, they developed regional specialties, including octopus mixed noodles, hijiki seaweed rice rolls, sea snail bread, and abalone black bean sauce rice.

Visitors sampled the offerings on the lawn of Biyang Elementary School’s defunct campus. Reflecting the festival’s environmental mandates, all food was served in reusable containers.

“The event was a meaningful opportunity to witness the potential of Biyang Island’s simple but exceptionally fresh seasonal ingredients,” said Kim, the chef, adding that he hoped the shared recipes will become lasting assets for the community.

Local merchants expressed optimism.

Kim Mi-hwa, the owner of Olle Coffee Shop, which collaborated with chef Lim Hee-won to create a mulberry rice wine bread, said she planned to keep the item on her permanent menu.

“The expertise shared during this collaboration will help introduce a new generation of travelers to the true flavors of Biyang Island," she said.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.