The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) have jointly developed the domestic food tourism brand Taste Your Korea featuring 33 pieces of content for gastronomic travel. Shown are international tourists at the annual Daegu Chimac (Chicken and Beer) Festival that ran from July 3-7 in the country’s No. 4 city of Daegu. (KTO)
By Lee Dasom
A new brand and content to promote domestic culinary culture seeks to boost global awareness of and preference for Korea as a gastronomic tourism destination.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on July 10 said that with the Korea Tourism Organization, it jointly developed the brand Taste Your Korea along with a list of 33 pieces of content to promote domestic tourism centered on the nation’s food.
The expression “Taste Your Korea” means to enjoy the variety of domestic food desired, and was produced in conjunction with the integrated tourism brand Imagine your Korea.
The image of Taste Your Korea is expressed through lifting a green band with chopsticks to symbolize freshness with the colors of basic condiments of Hansik (traditional food) like soy sauce, ssamjang, or thick and spicy paste made with soybean paste, and gochujang (spicy red pepper paste) with chopsticks. The meaning is “Connecting and Communicating With the World through Korean Food.”
The list of 33 pieces of food tourism content has three themes: specialties, seasonal ingredients and traditional beverages of the nation’s provinces.
The specialties include ganjang gejang (blue crab marinated in soy sauce) and jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) from Incheon; wanggalbi (grilled king spareribs) of Suwon and budaejjigae (spicy sausage stew) of Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do Province; and dakgalbi (spicy chicken barbecue) of Chuncheon, hanwoo (premium beef) cuisine of Hoengseong-gun County and chodang sundubu (soft tofu) of Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province.
The rest of the list comprises kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) of Daejeon; dwaeji gukbap (pork and rice soup) of Busan; fried chicken of Daegu; Andong jjimdak (steamed chicken) of Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province; Jeonju bibimbap (mixed rice with vegetables and meat) of Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province; tteokgalbi (grilled short-rib meat patties) of Damyang-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province; yukjeon (pan-fried battered beef) of Gwangju, and heukdwaeji (black pork) of Jeju Island.
The 15 types of seasonal ingredients from the provinces include oysters of Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, and saejogae (cockles) from Hongseong-gun County, Chungcheongnam-do Province.
The beverages section has three drinks: Andong soju (clear liquor) of Andong; makgeolli (milky rice wine) of Yangpyeong-gun County, Gyeonggi-do; and Seocheon sogokju (high-end traditional liquor) of Seocheon, Chungcheongnam-do.
“Using the new brand, we will develop food tourism content through stories and create tourism products,” a ministry news release said. “We plan to use it to attract overseas visitors interested in gastronomic travel and stimulate tourism and economy in the provinces.” 
This is the logo image of the new tourism brand “Taste Your Korea.” (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
This map shows 33 leading pieces of content of domestic food tourism. (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
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