By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
First Lady Kim Yoon-ok called for efforts Monday to promote traditional Korean food, or "hansik", around the world, saying doing so will help upgrade the country's image abroad.
"The globalization of hansik will not only help expand hallyu (the Korean culture wave), but help enhance Korea's global reputation", Kim said in a ceremony in Seoul to launch the initiative steering committee.
Kim will serve as the honorary chairwoman of the 36-member group, which will include Yoo In-chon, minister of culture, sports and tourism; Chang Tae-pyong, minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries; and chief executives of food firms.
Actor
Bae Yong-joon, who runs a Korean restaurant in Tokyo, was also appointed a committee member.
"The panel will convene a meeting every six months to discuss how to make Korean food 'global food"', the committee said in a press release. "It will play a central role in creating necessary laws and coordinating government policies on globalizing Korean food".
First Lady Kim, 62, is known to have a keen interest in traditional Korean food and clothes. She has said hansik has great potential to become a new trend in global culinary culture.
Early this year, the administration launched the "Global Hansik" campaign to make Korean food one of the five most popular ethnic foods in the world, initiating plans to create a 50-billion-won fund and open Korean cooking classes at world-renowned cooking schools.
Under the program, the government also aims to increase the number of Korean restaurants overseas to 40,000 by 2017 and promote the uniqueness and healthy nature of the food on the international stage.
In April, the government held a symposium under the theme of the globalization of Korean cuisine, during which about 300 participants discussed the current global food trend and strategy to make hansik more appealing overseas.
