[Report] "Korean Food as Economy"... A Feast of 'Korean Taste' Unfolded in Front Yard of the National Assembly

Hosted by Korea Hansik Forum and Democratic Party Rep. Eo Gi-gu
Rice Cake Performance and Traditional Cultural Performances for Hansik Day
From Yakgwa to Rice Cakes, Hangwa, Bibimbap, Kimchi, and Pyongyang Naengmyeon

“If you look at the very bottom here, you can see the beans settled beneath the doenjang. Since this is a paste made by mashing boiled beans, it’s quite different from the ground pastes sold in the market, right?”

At the 12th Korean Food Culture Globalization Festival held on the 4th at the lawn square in front of the National Assembly Museum at Yeouido National Assembly Building, dishes created by Kwon Hyun-sook, a culinary researcher and head of Taste Lab, were exhibited. Photo by Moon Hye-won

On the 4th, the grand feast of Korean flavors held on the lawn in front of the National Assembly Museum at Yeouido National Assembly attracted not only National Assembly staff but also nearby office workers, creating a bustling crowd throughout the day.

This event was the ‘12th Korean Food Culture Globalization Festival’ featuring master chefs of Korean cuisine nationwide. It was hosted by the ‘Korea Hansik Forum’ and Eo Gi-gu, a member of the Democratic Party and chairman of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

At the 12th Korean Food Culture Globalization Festival held on the 4th at the lawn square in front of the National Assembly Museum at Yeouido National Assembly Building, (from left in the photo) culinary researcher Kwon Hyun-sook, head of Taste Research Institute, Lee Kyung-ja, head of Hongju Fermented Foods, and Lee Kyung-ae, head of the Medicinal Cuisine Master Dining Research Institute, each introduced their submitted works. Photo by Moon Hye-won

Under the theme ‘Hansik as Culture! Economy! and Worldwide!’, this event embodied the aspiration to globalize Korean food culture and establish a Korean Food Day. The exhibition hall was filled with a variety of traditional Korean foods, from yakgwa (honey cookies), rice cakes, jeon (Korean pancakes), gujeolpan (platter of nine delicacies), bibimbap, various teas, kimchi, gimbap, gejang (marinated crab), to soy sauce and doenjang.

Cooking researcher Kwon Hyun-sook, head of Taste Lab, showcased colorful pumpkin-shaped sweets, bead bibimbap, flower-shaped fruit jelly, nutritious pumpkin samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), and tofu seon (steamed tofu) that looked as noble as if adorned with pearls. Kwon said, “All the dishes use natural ingredients, making them healthy and visually beautiful,” adding, “I hope that delicious and healthy Hansik can be widely promoted through this event.”

Using domestically grown agricultural products, especially red beans to make doenjang, Lee Kyung-ja, CEO of Hongju Fermented Foods, a fermentation food artisan who literally ‘made meju with red beans,’ also attended the event. Hongju Fermented Foods gained fame by recreating traditional doenjang varieties favored by ancestors, such as red bean paste made from red beans, deodeok-doraji jang made with deodeok and bellflower root, and sangsil jang made from acorns.

CEO Lee said, “I hope our traditional red bean doenjang becomes well known not only in Korea but worldwide, developing into a fermented food culture sought after by people around the globe.”

Yakson master Lee Kyung-ae, CEO of the Dining Research Institute, presented a Taegeukgi (Korean flag) and mugunghwa (rose of Sharon) made with rice colored in obangsaek (five traditional Korean colors), and water kimchi made with ginseng. Lee said, “I have devoted 50 years solely to cooking,” adding, “To help small business owners overcome difficulties, I have developed various menus and passed on secret recipes, working over 300 times as an instructor and consultant.”

North Korean-style alcohol, rice cakes, and Pyongyang cold noodles were also displayed in the center of the venue, attracting visitors’ attention.

On site, judges were evaluating the entries based on expressiveness, suitability, marketability, and harmony, assigning scores. The recipients of awards such as the Presidential Award and Ministerial Awards are determined in order of the highest total scores.