Gangneung City Selected as a Domestic Recommended City in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy Field

June 2023, English Application Submitted to UNESCO Headquarters (Paris) for International Review
Official Use of UNESCO Name and Logo... International Exchange Projects with 295 Cities in 93 Countries

Gangneung City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangneung City announced on the 22nd that "on the 16th, it was selected as the domestic recommended city in the gastronomy category in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network membership recommendation review conducted by the UNESCO Korea Committee."

According to the city, in this review, positive evaluations were received for the formation of the Food Creative City Promotion Committee, exchange projects with domestic and international creative cities, business agreements, and other citizen participation and active inter-city exchange activities emphasized by UNESCO.

Accordingly, the city plans to prepare an English (and French) application form by June next year to officially join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as a full member, and submit it to the UNESCO headquarters along with the recommendation letter from the UNESCO Korea Committee.

The application will be reviewed by UNESCO headquarters and cities belonging to the Food Sub-network, with the final result announced around the end of November.

Upon joining the UNESCO network, the city can use the official UNESCO name and logo and engage in international exchange projects with 295 cities in 93 countries worldwide.

Currently, in the gastronomy category, only Jeonju City is a member domestically, and 49 cities worldwide including ?stersund in Sweden, Macau, Phuket, Bangkok, and Chengdu are members.

The city particularly highlighted its strengths as a cultural tourism hub on the East Coast region, emphasizing the creative transformation of the food industry and diverse industrialization as a sustainable development path for future generations.

Over the next year, the city plans to actively engage in exchange and cooperation projects with domestic and international creative cities, introduce Gangneung City to the Food Sub-network, and prepare the English application form based on advice from the advisory committee of the UNESCO Korea Committee.

Kim Hong-gyu, the elected mayor of Gangneung, said, "I thank the Promotion Committee, the presentation team, and citizens who worked hard for the domestic review of the UNESCO Creative Cities. We will cooperate with citizens to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2023 and devote ourselves to making Gangneung a global international cultural tourism city."