Chefs from Two Cities Join Forces... Busan Launches Gourmet Culture Exchange with Castelldefels, Spain

Busan City is launching a gourmet culture exchange project with Castelldefels City in Spain.

On the 24th, the city announced that on the 22nd, Castelldefels Mayor Manuel Reyes Lopez and City Councilor Guillermo Masana Romero visited Busan to discuss ways to collaborate on gourmet culture between the two cities. Cho Gyuyul, Director General of Citizen Health for Busan City, also attended the meeting, which was held in the International Protocol Room at City Hall that morning.

This exchange has been organized ahead of the annual general meeting of the World Gourmet Cities Alliance (Delice Network), which will be held next year in Castelldefels. Busan is the only member city from Korea, and currently, 25 cities from 18 countries participate in the alliance.

Busan City and Castelldefels City in Spain are discussing ways to collaborate on gourmet culture exchange.

Busan City and Castelldefels City discussed a variety of cooperation measures, including: mutual invitations to the Busan International Food Expo, Busan Marina Chef Challenge, and the Castelldefels Gourmet Festival; exchange programs for chefs and culinary students; co-hosting gourmet festivals; developing joint cooperation projects through the Delice Network; and operating regular exchange programs. Both sides agreed to establish a sustainable gourmet cooperation network.

Mayor Manuel Reyes Lopez stated, "It is an honor to have this opportunity for exchange. I would like to invite Busan to the Delice Network annual general meeting in Castelldefels next year," adding, "We hope our chefs can participate in the Busan International Food Expo and Busan Marina Chef Challenge to showcase our traditional cuisine."

The city expressed its warm welcome and reaffirmed its commitment to mutual exchange. Busan is advancing its "Gourmet City Busan" strategy, positioning the restaurant industry as a key driver of urban competitiveness. Notable policy achievements include: the "Taste of Busan" guidebook featuring local restaurants and gourmet stories; the "B-FOOD Recipe" collection of creative dishes using regional ingredients; and "BusanOllang," the nation's first AI-based foreign language menu platform.

Cho Gyuyul, Director General of Citizen Health, commented, "We hope this visit will serve as a catalyst for a close cooperative relationship between Busan and Castelldefels," and added, "We will do our utmost to expand friendly cooperation with gourmet cities worldwide so that Busan can establish itself as a global gourmet city."