Korea to nurture 100 Michelin-starred Korean restaurants abroad by 2027
The government will expand Korean food's global appeal by nurturing 100 Michelin-starred Korean restaurants worldwide by 2027 and increasing the global market value of Korean food to 300 trillion won ($227 billion), according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Friday.
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| A pot of ginseng chicken soup, or samgyetang in Korean, is one of the popular Korean foods that attracts people from all over the world. Gettyimagesbank |
Food Minister Song Mi-ryung said the ministry will expand the number of Korean restaurants overseas to 15,000 and nurture selective venues around the world to be designated by the globally reputed restaurant guide. As of last year, there were 31 Michelin-starred Korean restaurants worldwide, including 14 in Seoul and 11 in New York.
She added that Korean cuisine's global market value, set at 152 trillion won as of 2021, will receive investments to almost double its size by 2027. A strategic initiative will from now on promote Korean foods under the theme of "Adventurous Table," a new label the ministry has launched.
The ministry last May launched a group of 24 experts to come up with ways to boost Korean food's prominence on the global stage. To increase the number of people developing and promoting the foods, it will boost the capacity of the country's professional gastronomic academies dedicated to Korean food by increasing their number from five at present to eight by 2027. It will also quadruple the number of graduates from the schools, now standing at 250.
The ministry said it will encourage prestigious culinary institutes overseas to launch Korean food programs. Starting this year with the program's inception at two different schools, the initiative aims to see the number increase to five by 2027.
The ministry will also update the country's top 100 Korean foods guidebook and include detailed information and supplementary tips like how to properly eat them and how to pair them with Korean traditional alcohol.
The ministry will also select and promote 10 Korean terms related to the national foods to preserve their Korean names and pronunciation for broader global use. In March, the ministry will announce the list of Asia's 50 best restaurants for tourists. Every fall, the authority will organize a global conference on Korean food and invite experts from around the world to join.
"I will see to it that Korean food leads global gastronomic mega-trends, like K-pop did," Song said.
(Source: Korea Times)
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