Korean food cooking contest for foreigners

Published on 2011/10/10 | Source

Overseas fans of "hansik", or Korean food, will be invited to enter an online cooking contest.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday it will hold a hansik cooking video competition, titled "Delicious Seoul Story", during October on its YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/visitseoul.

The contest aims to promote Korean food as the next catalyst to carry the momentum of "hallyu", or the Korean Wave, following soap operas and K-pop, according to a city official.

"Beyond the primary interest in hansik, such as 'I want to try bibimbap or bulgogi', we expect this contest will encourage foreigners to make Korean food themselves, eventually spreading the understanding of Korean culture and prompting visits to the country", the official said.

Those wanting to participate can make hansik with their own recipes - either traditional authentic Korean food or a mixture of Korean food and their local cuisine - record the cooking process, and upload the video clips on the YouTube channel. They can refer to hansik recipes posted on the city's tourism website, welcome.visitseoul.net.

Five teams will be selected on Nov. 4 and they will have a four-day tour to Seoul from Nov. 23 to 26, sponsored by Asiana Airlines. They will visit some of Seoul's most acclaimed restaurants as well as traditional-style markets, and have a chance to make bulgogi and kimchi with professional chefs.

The finalists will participate in the final contest on Nov. 25 by demonstrating their recipes to hansik experts. The winner will get extra prizes.

"We'll promote Seoul's tourist attractions and culture through various methods both online and offline", the city official said.

More information about the contest is available on the tourism website.

By Kim Rahn