Stream K-Dramas at OnDemandKorea

UNESCO honors Jeonju as City of Gastronomy

By Alexander Ahn

Advertisement

Jeonju, capital of North Jeolla Province, has been named by UNESCO as this year's City of Gastronomy.

The announcement of the Creative Cities Network's Gastronomy City winner came Tuesday, as Jeonju is now expected to lead the globalization effort of Korean cuisine. Other Network categories include literature, film, music, crafts & folk art, design and media arts.

This is the first time a Korean city has won in the food department. Previous winners of the culinary division include Papayan, Colombia, in 2005, Chengdu, China in 2010, and Ostersund, Sweden, also in 2010. Jeonju is the fourth winner.

In the past Seoul and Icheon have also won their own Creative Cities Network award. In 2010 they won in the categories of design and crafts, and folk art, respectively.

UNESCO's Director-General Irina Georgieva Bokova confirmed in an official announcement letter that "Jeonju, as the newest UNESCO City of Gastronomy, has permission to use UNESCO's logo for worldwide promotion".

The title was awarded based on various aspects, including food and traditional culture, in which Jeonju received high scores. Jeonju's homemade food preparation style, which has been passed down for thousands of years, was highly praised.

Jeonju Mayor Song Ha-jin said, "It is very rewarding that our efforts in preserving our traditional culture and food has gotten us recognized by UNESCO".

Jeonju is well-known for promoting the traditional local dish, bibimbap. It is also home to popular vegetarian restaurants that serve traditional food and pine wine.

UNESCO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, is responsible for promoting peace and security through international collaboration of education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information.

The Creative Cities Network represents the culture sector, and works to protect, safeguard and manage the heritage and diversity of cultural expressions and the dialogue of cultures.

ahnalexandert@gmail.com

❎ Try Ad-free