Jeonju to host Korean food feast on Oct. 20-24

A foreign child is ready to pound steamed glutinous rice used to make rice cakes with a wooden hammer during the 2010 Korean Food Festival in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.

Advertisement

By Lee Hyo-sik

If you want to know how traditional Korean dishes are made and what ingredients are used, you don't want to miss the upcoming two festivals. They are the 2011 Korean Food Festival in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, and the 2011 Icheon Rice Cultural Festival in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

In Jeonju, widely known for its traditional housing and cuisine, visitors will able to see how bibimbap and other traditional dishes are cooked by chefs from across the country from Oct. 20 to 24. Bibimbap is a mixed dish of cooked white rice, vegetables, beef, garnishes and red pepper paste.

Guests will also get to sample "hansik',' or Korean cuisine, and take part in culinary classes to hone their cooking skills. To go with the food, a wide array of traditional performances will be organized throughout event venues.

The 2011 Icheon Rice Cultural Festival presents the perfect opportunity for those who want to see and experience what Korea's agricultural industry was like in the past. Event organizers plan to offer a wide range of programs which visitors can take part in and experience firsthand what it was like to live as a farmer in old Korea.

They will get chances to harvest rice plants, play traditional games and cook dishes using rice from Nov. 3 to 6.

Korean Food Festival

The festival will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju Hanok Village and other venues across the city, drawing tens of thousands of visitors from both home and abroad. This year's event is expected to attract more foreign participants, particularly Japanese and Chinese, as hansik has become a popular diet overseas thanks to its health benefits.

"Hansik is the world's healthiest food and is gaining increasing popularity abroad. So, we expect to see more foreign guests this year. At the World Cup Stadium, an exhibition hall covering 45,000 square meters will be set up to house 400 booths exhibiting hansik and other ethnic foods from 18 foreign nations',' said a spokeswoman for the Korean Food Festival Organizing Committee.

Visitors will be able to learn how to make traditional dishes by taking part in cooking classes, as well as sample foods prepared by culinary experts. They also get a chance to see how chiefs prepare bibimbap and other dishes.

"Those wanting to know more about the origin of Korean food should take a tour of hansik. Destinations include Makgeolli town and Hanok Village in Jeonju, and the red pepper paste village in Sunchang county',' the spokeswoman said.

On the sidelines, the Jeonju Bibimbap Festival will be held at the Hanok Village on Oct. 20 to 23, providing tourists with opportunities to learn how to prepare one of the most popular traditional dishes and cook their own

"Tourists will also get to sample and purchase a wide range of fermented foods from here and overseas during the International Fermented Food Expo from Oct. 20 to 24. I am sure that these festivals will draw larger crowd this year and help promote our unique culinary culture',' she said.

For more information, call 063-272-6987 or visit www.koreafoodfestival.or.kr.

Icheon Rice Cultural Festival

Icheon invites visitors from home and abroad to a festival all about rice. They can purchase newly harvested rice at discounted prices, as well as experience traditional farming practices.

"A wide range of programs will entertain visitors, and provide them with opportunities to learn about Korea's traditional farming. They will get to learn about how to harvest rice plants, and make rice cake and other dishes using rice in a traditional manner. There will also be a range of traditional performances and contests which visitors can take part in',' said a spokesman for the Icheon Rice Cultural Festival Organizing Committee.

Visitors will have the chance to make a variety of handicrafts with straw, such as ropes, shoes and scarecrows.

"The festival will enable the young generation and foreigners to experience the traditional farming culture, and provide the older generations with a sense of nostalgia',' the spokesman said.

For more information, call 031-644-4125 or visit www.ricefestival.or.kr