S. Korea accelerates effort to promote its food

SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Monday launched its first promotional
body dedicated to promoting recognition and popularity of its foods abroad, the
culture ministry said.

The pan-government body -- comprised of 36 food experts, officials and CEOs
including Agriculture Minister Chang Tae-pyong and Culture Minister Yu In-chon --
will work on revising the law and setting up stable business structures to foster
Korean restaurants, chefs and food experts overseas.
Detailed tasks and plans by the body will soon be announced, the culture ministry
said in a press release, adding it will focus on developing tourism programs
related to Korean food.
Low fat and based largely on vegetables, Korean food has been earning increasing
fame in the West with approximately 1,400 Korean restaurants in the United
States, 1,700 in Japan, 2,500 in China and 170 in Europe. But it remains a poor
comparison to the 10,000 Japanese restaurants in the United States and nearly
25,000 globally.
The South Korean government hopes to increase the number of Korean restaurants
abroad to 40,000 by 2017.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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