Food trade agency secures more kimchi for Korean athletes at Olympics

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.’s Paris division chief Nam Sang-hui (right) and Chung Dong-kook, vice chief of the National Training Center under the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, pose for a photo at a kimchi handover ceremony at the Team Korea Paris Platform in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, on July 31. (aT)

As the world tunes into the Paris Olympics, the Korean national team has received a boost from home -- not just in spirit, but in flavor.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., or aT, on Friday said it had delivered an additional shipment of Korea’s beloved culinary staple kimchi to the athletes, providing a taste of home with the aim to inspire peak performance.

The official kimchi handover ceremony took place on July 31 at the Team Korea Paris Platform in Fontainebleau, a suburban enclave of Paris.

The decision to send an additional supply of kimchi came at the urgent request of the KSOC, as the previously provided kimchi was a great impetus to the athletes’ physical conditioning and morale. To meet this demand, aT secured an additional batch of Korean-produced kimchi currently sold in France, in three varieties: whole radish kimchi, cabbage kimchi and diced radish kimchi.

This marks a continuation of the partnership between aT and the KSOC that began on July 8 at the national training center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, supplying Korean food to the training athletes.

As part of its tradition of supporting national athletes, aT has previously provided kimchi at numerous international sporting events, including the Tokyo Games in 2021 and the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

"Just as K-food is sweeping across the world, we hope our national athletes will sweep up gold medals at this global festival, the Olympics," aT CEO Kim Chun-jin said. "As kimchi represents K-food, we are sure it will continue to play a pivotal role in elevating Korea’s prestige through diverse marketing strategies."

Meanwhile, the state-run food trade agency seeks to continue its marketing efforts, riding on the spirit of the Paris Olympics. Under the KSOC's Korea House initiative during the Olympic season, aT is distributing maps of K-food outlets in Paris to promote Korean cuisine to international visitors.

By Park Se-ra(serap1005@heraldcorp.com)