Can Korean Food Break the ‘Top Five’?

When it comes to kimchi, the government of South Korea means business. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries recently announced a $40 million fund to enact its “Global Hansik” campaign to make Korean food one of the five most popular ethnic cuisines in the world.

The Ministry’s rather methodical strategy includes introducing Korean cooking classes at Cordon Bleu-affiliated culinary schools worldwide; promoting celebrity Korean chefs; and increasing the number of Korean restaurants overseas to 40,000 by 2017.

Adapting Korean cuisine to foreign palates is also high on the agenda; a new Kimchi Institute will test various kinds of pickled vegetables for foreign markets.

Of course, more than a few foreign establishments are already waving the “Global Hansik” banner unprompted.  Los Angeles’ Kogi taco truck is a hit among the Twitterati, while Seattle’s Joule has drawn raves for its “palate-bending” French-Korean dishes, created by Seoul-raised chef Rachel Yang and husband/co-chef Seif Chirchi.

In a recent interview with the Korea Times, Yang suggested the introduction of Korean food abroad “has to happen naturally.”  Seems the Korean government is taking a more competitive approach.

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