Leading the Fine Dining Sector with a 'Premium' Image
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Supports Selected Restaurants with 20 Million KRW for Domestic Ingredients
Plans to Designate More Than 10 Additional Restaurants in the Second Half of the Year
"There is no place in this city that better showcases the advantages of a modern tasting-menu format than this one. Sitting at the elegant underground counter and savoring Chef Park Jeong-hyun's multi-course dishes, you will be repeatedly amazed by the diverse insights into Korean ingredients." (Pete Wells, food columnist for The New York Times)
'Yoon Ga', an excellent Korean restaurant operating overseas in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Korea Food Promotion Institute
On April 17th, the Korean restaurant 'Atomix' claimed the 2nd place in The New York Times (NYT) '2023 New York Top 100 Restaurants'. Pete Wells, who selected the Top 100 restaurants, has been a food columnist reviewing restaurants for The New York Times since 2012.
Atomix is one of the eight 'Overseas Excellent Korean Restaurants' designated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on January 26th. According to the Korean Food Promotion Act enforced in August 2020, the ministry has been conducting a project to select excellent Korean restaurants since last year. The selection is made three times based on 21 criteria including food quality, service, and contribution to the spread of Korean cuisine. The ministry announced on the 16th that additional excellent Korean restaurants will be designated in the second half of this year.
Besides Atomix, the eight newly designated excellent Korean restaurants include ▲‘Jeongsik’ and ‘Yoon Haeundae Galbi’ in New York, USA ▲‘Soon Grill Marais’, ‘Jongno Samgyetang’, and ‘Ido’ in Paris, France ▲‘Yoon Ga’ and ‘Hasuo’ in Tokyo, Japan. ‘Yoon Haeundae Galbi’ also ranked 59th in this year’s NYT Top 100 Restaurants. A ministry official said, "Korean cuisine is regarded as very sophisticated food, and through industry insiders, we have heard that Korean restaurants are leading in the fine dining sector overseas."
When designated as an excellent Korean restaurant overseas, in addition to receiving a designation plaque, each restaurant is provided with an incentive of about 20 million KRW for purchasing domestic ingredients and tableware. A ministry official said, "Chefs want to use more domestic ingredients in their cooking," adding, "Even if fresh ingredients are difficult, we send domestic ingredients that can be delivered such as sauces and dried vegetables made by Korean masters, and also provide funds so that domestic ingredients like abalone from Wando can be purchased locally."
The designation as an excellent Korean restaurant also serves as a marketing tool. A representative from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, which manages the overseas excellent Korean restaurant designation project, explained, "We have received feedback that the selected restaurants use the designation plaques and other materials for marketing," and added, "Following the designation, they have appeared in global rankings and various media reports."
Yoon Mi-wol (65), CEO of ‘Yoon Ga’, an excellent Korean restaurant operating locally in Tokyo, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "Customers who visit see the excellent Korean restaurant plaque and respond with comments like 'Amazing' and 'Cool'." However, she also mentioned, "All incentives must be used to purchase ingredients, but sometimes it is difficult because there is no place to store the stock," and suggested, "Even before the designation, we have used more than 90% domestic ingredients, so it would be good if the support funds could be used more flexibly."
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to select more than 10 overseas excellent Korean restaurants in the second half of this year to promote the taste and charm of Korean cuisine worldwide. Korean restaurants wishing to apply can submit their application forms and attachments online from the 18th of this month until the 8th of next month. Essential requirements for designation include ▲operating a Korean restaurant in the respective country for the past 3 years ▲having Korean dishes account for 60% or more of the main menu ▲no violations of the country's hygiene standards in the past 2 years.
Follow-up management for the already designated restaurants will also be conducted. A representative from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation said, "We plan to conduct a satisfaction survey soon to comprehensively understand how satisfied the designated Korean restaurants are with the incentives received and what changes have occurred after the designation."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
