Kimchi drive hits the road during Gwangju fest
Published: 31 Aug. 2009, 20:48
From right to left: Kim Sung-hoon, chairman of the 2009 Gwangju Kimchi Cultural Festival Promotional Board, Gwangju Mayor Park Kwang-tae, World Kimchi Association President Kim Soon-ja, Serbian Ambassador to Korea Slobodan Marinkovic and his wife, EUCCK Secretary General Jean-Jacques Grauhar, EUCCK Vice President Hans-Bernhard Merforth and Korea Kimchi Association Chair Lee Ha-yeon, attend a promotional event for the Gwangju Kimchi Cultural Festival 2009 held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, last Thursday. Provided by the organizer
In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions for foreigners visiting Korea is, “How do you like kimchi?” The question could well be translated as “How do you like Korea?”
A festival in late October in the southern city of Gwangju, South Jeolla will look at the past 1,000 years of kimchi culinary tradition. The Gwangju Kimchi Cultural Festival 2009 will go on the road from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, visiting Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Daejeon in addition to the host city of Gwangju.
“The Gwangju Kimchi Cultural Festival is fast becoming a global festival,” said Park Kwang-tae, mayor of Gwangju city, at a European Union Chamber of Commerce networking party last Thursday.
The festival organizer has teamed up with EUCCK to promote the event among European ambassadors and business figures in Korea.
The aim of the festival, launched in 1994 by the Gwangju Metropolitan Government, is to globalize kimchi. The drive fits in well with the ambitions of the current administration, which wants to globalize Korean cuisine, the mayor said.
The main programs of the festival will include kimchi exhibitions, an international conference on the globalization of kimchi, cultural events such as a kimchi talk show and an environment-friendly kimchi field trip, according to organizers.
For more information about the event, visit www.kimchi.gwangju.kr.
By Park Sun-young [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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