By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Foreigners in Korea think Korean foods' healthy nutrition and good taste have competitiveness in the global food market. But they also say its spiciness is its weakness, and that Korean restaurants need to step up their hygiene standards.
In a recent survey conducted by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) on 207 foreigners considered opinion leaders here, 78.7 percent said they like Korean food and seek out the cuisine because of good taste (60.2 percent); curiosity (16.6 percent), and good nutrition (14.2 percent). The foreigners mostly included businesspeople (38.2 percent), professors (11.6 percent) and diplomats (7.7 percent).
Nearly six out of 10 respondents thought Korean cuisine had global market potential _ because Korean food is healthy with its main ingredients being vegetables (36.7 percent), variety of flavors (21.5 percent), variety of dishes (18.9 percent), and good nutrition (13.3 percent).
But they also saw obstacles, with 29.1 percent citing Korean food being too spicy; 20.9 percent, unsavory smells; 12 percent, poor promotion; and 10.8 percent, lack of standardization.
However, when asked what Korean restaurants should do to overcome the obstacles, they talked about restaurants' sanitation and interior rather than the taste of food. Twenty percent said restaurants should improve on their hygiene and have more traditional Korean-style interiors, while 17.5 percent said service should be globalized.
Most preferred ``Korean style'' restaurants _ 49.6 percent saying that for globalization, Korean restaurants should modernize, though not at the cost of tradition, while 41.9 percent said traditional ``hanok'' would work.
Regarding Korean food they like the most, 17 percent said ``bibimbap'' (steamed rice with assorted vegetable), while 13.7 percent and 11.5 percent said ``bulgogi'' and ``galbi,'' both Korean style barbeques, respectively. Kimchi came in fourth.
Almost nine out of 10 said they would encourage other foreigners to try Korean cuisine indicating Korean food does have global competitiveness. More than 72 percent also said they would visit Korean restaurants when they go back to their homelands if there are any.
Compared to their interest in Korean cuisine, 55.1 percent said they would learn how to make Korean food if they have chance, but 40.6 percent said they would not.
More than 60 percent had tried Korean liquor. But 43.7 percent did not know the names of traditional Korean alcohol, while 21.9 percent merely new about ``soju,'' indicating Korea needs to promote its traditional liquor more actively.
The survey will be announced by Cho Tae-kwon, chairman of Kwangjuyo, at a forum held by CICI at COEX InterContinental Hotel in southern Seoul today.
Panels of the forum include Yim Sung-joon, president of the Korea Foundation; H. E. Massimo Leggeri, Italian ambassador to Seoul; Kim Youn-young, president of Yongsusan; Alan Timblick, national chancellor of Chaine des Rotisseurs Korea Chapter; Paul Schenk, head of Foreign Chef Association in Korea; Pascal Biannicleger, president of Spire Group; and Choi Jung-wha, president of CICI.