K-food workshop serves a taste of tradition to a global audience

The global interest in Korean cuisine continues to rise, as foreign journalists and chefs eagerly attend workshops as part of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants event held for the the first time in Korea.

Chef Cho Hee-sook, far left, leads the “Kimchi, Jang and Traditional Liquor: Fermentation of Hansik” workshop at the Korea House in Jung District, central Seoul, on Tuesday [KOREA FOOD PROMOTION INSTITUTE]

Fewer Koreans might be making kimchi and jang, but more foreigners are certainly interested.

Overseas journalists and chefs bombarded Tuesday’s hansik (Korean cuisine) workshop with questions ranging from the right way to store kimchi to the ratio of salt to water when making ganjang (soy sauce) and doenjang (soybean paste), at the cultural complex Korea House in Jung District, central Seoul.

Dubbed “Kimchi, Jang and Traditional Liquor: Fermentation of Hansik,” the workshop was led by Chef Cho Hee-sook and held in conjunction with Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony which took place in Seoul on the same day.

The Korean Food Promotion Institute (KFPI), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and Seoul Metropolitan Government jointly hosted the workshop.

Kimchi and jang tasting session during the “Kimchi, Jang and Traditional Liquor: Fermentation of Hansik" workshop [KOREA FOOD PROMOTION INSTITUTE]

“I was surprised at the level of expertise that people had in Korean cuisine,” Cho told the Korea JoongAng Daily after the class. “It’s certainly a healthy interest as hansik is so multifaceted; by using a scientific and historical approach, people can get a richer understanding of the cuisine."

She led an hour-long demonstration on Korea’s three representative jang, otherwise known as fermented soybean base sauces, comprising of ganjang, doenjang and gochujang, and two types of kimchi, red and water. Cho walked the audience through a step-by-step cooking process and also provided useful tips for those who want to make the dishes at home.

The class was followed by a Q&A, a tasting session consisting of ten different varieties of kimchi and jang, and lunch paired with different Korean traditional alcohol.

Chef Cho Hee-sook makes kimchi during the “Kimchi, Jang and Traditional Liquor: Fermentation of Hansik” workshop. [KOREA FOOD PROMOTION INSTITUTE]

Cho is a cooking adviser for the Korea House and the non-executive director of KFPI. With some 40 years of culinary experience on her back, Cho is known by nicknames like “a chef’s chef” or “the godmother of Korean food.” She is also a recipient of the 2020 Michelin Guide Seoul’s Mentor Chef Award and 2020 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Asia’s Best Female Chef award.

Overseas enthusiasm on Tuesday was a stark contrast to the response the same craft is getting from locals, especially the young.

Only 61 percent of Koreans were willing to make their own kimchi in 2023, according to a JoongAng Ilbo survey with the food platform Ziggle Ziggle Club conducted last October with 587 adult participants. This is 2 percent less than that of the previous year. The survey also found that smaller families were less likely to make kimchi.

But Cho is hopeful for a kimchi turnaround.

“I actually think that if kimchi-making goes viral abroad, it will encourage more locals to go back to making their own kimchi,” Cho said. “I want to believe in the retro trend!”

“Temple Food: Vegetarian Cuisine of Korea” workshop led by monk Jeong Kwan [KOREA FOOD PROMOTION INSTITUTE]

MAFRA, KFPI and the Seoul government hosted two more workshops in the same week: “Temple Food: Vegetarian Cuisine of Korea” with monk Jeong Kwan and “Korean Meat: K-BBQ” with Kim Tae-hyeon, the vice president of the local barbecue chain Byeok-Je Galbi.

“I hope that the Hansik Workshop series gave media representatives from overseas an enjoyable experience of Korean culture and food,” KFPI Chairperson Yim Kyeong-sook said. “We will continue carrying out events and programs such as this one, focusing on offering up-close, personal experiences of Korean cuisine.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]