‘1-Person Chef~Yanadu’ I Cook My Own Food! ... Gijang-gun Jeonggwan-eup, Cooking Program for Middle-Aged Men Underway

Middle-aged and older single male household members are learning to cook at the cooking class 'One-person Chef~ Yanadoo'.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] The Jeonggwan-eup Administrative Welfare Center in Gijang-gun conducted a cooking class program called ‘One-person Chef~ Yanadu’ twice, on the 5th and 12th, targeting 10 middle-aged and elderly single men at the Korea Polytechnic University Dongbusan Campus.

Jeonggwan-eup planned the ‘One-person Chef~ Yanadu’ program based on the fact that men living alone have difficulties preparing their own meals.

The One-person Chef~ Yanadu program focused on providing the value of learning so that middle-aged and elderly men can cook by themselves, supporting the formation of social networks for a healthy life, and improving daily living skills.

Jeonggwan-eup structured the program so that participants could acquire cooking skills based on soy sauce and doenjang (fermented soybean paste) bases, enabling them to actually prepare meals at home.

The program consisted of practical activities such as food ingredient preparation and cooking under the guidance of a professional cooking instructor.

One participant said, “I used to always eat out, but actually cooking myself was easier and more fun than I thought. I gained the courage and confidence to prepare my own meals in the future, and it was a good experience as I also made neighbors.”

Kim Jong-cheon, head of Jeonggwan-eup, said, “The number of single-person households living isolated from social networks is increasing. We will strive to create a better Jeonggwan-eup by developing various programs to prevent risks such as lonely deaths through the formation of social networks and support for social life.”