KFPI Hosts Last Academic Seminar on Korean Cuisine for 2022

Meaningful Discussions Held Among Industry, Academia, and Research Sectors

The KFPI (president: Yim Kyeongsook) held the 4th Korean Cuisine Seminar, the final one for 2022, on November 25 at Hansik Space E:eum (E:eum Hall, B1), located in Seoul’s Jongno-gu district.

The seminar series was held for the first time in 2022. Held four times starting in June, the series was participated in by approximately 100 representatives of the industry, academia, and research sectors related to Korean cuisine who engaged in exchanges with one another. The four seminars were grouped into two themes (1 and 2: emphasis of the nutritional and functional merits of Korean food, 3 and 4: ways of revitalizing Korean food and Korean restaurants in the post-COVID-19 world), based on which experts gave presentations and engaged in group discussions with the goal of strengthening the competitiveness of Korean cuisine and its industry.

The first and second seminars, attended by Professor Kang Jaeheon (Kangbuk Samsung Hospital) and Director Hong Seongwook (World Institute of Kimchi), focused on highlighting the excellence of traditional fermented foods (kimchi, jang, etc.) through scientific evidence. The third seminar, which was held in October, discussed ways of revitalizing Korean cuisine and Korean restaurants in the post-COVID-19 world from a “food tech” perspective. Attended by Professor Lee Kiwon (Seoul National University), among others, it focused on the potential of the Korean cuisine industry to generate value.

The fourth seminar was comprised of presentations and a roundtable discussion with a focus on Korean restaurant franchises that have debuted overseas. Park Dogeun, CEO of Dareun and owner of Dookki Tteokbokki, and Seo Ganghyeon, a team manager at Seoraester (which owns the Seorae Korean BBQ franchise), gave presentations on their experiences with operating Korean restaurants overseas to suggest ways in which Korea should design its overseas Korean restaurant strategy for the post-COVID-19 world.

The roundtable discussion was chaired by Seo Sooyeon (team leader, Korean Food Research Team) and participated in by Professor Seo Jeongseok (Department of Franchise Management, Jangan University) and Oh Gichan (manager, Foreign Investor Support Center, KOTRA). The discussion focused on how to localize Korean restaurants so that they be profitable and, thereby, motivate other restaurants to branch out into foreign markets.

President Yim said, “I am grateful to everyone who is present today, having come from academia and the research and corporate sectors for the purpose of engaging in meaningful discussions on Korean cuisine. In 2023, we will do our best to host occasions for more and higher-quality communication among these three sectors.” The presentation booklet for the seminar is available to download on the KFPI’s website (http://www.hansik.or.kr; Korean version only).

KFPI Designated as “CSR in the Community” Organization

Gained High Scores on Social Contribution Network and Ethical Management

The KFPI (president: Yim Kyeongsook) announced on November 29, 2022, that it was designated as a member by “CSR in the Community,” an authentication system jointly operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea National Council on Social Welfare. The system’s goal is to recognize companies and organizations that have engaged in social contribution activities in partnership with non-profit players to solve locally-specific social problems.

The KFPI has consistently made an effort to realize partnered growth with local agents, as evidenced by its operation of Korean food experience programs in conjunction with local governments, helping of local farms during harvest season, making of kimchi for socially-underprivileged citizens, and plogging in the Bukchon area. In 2022, the KFPI conducted social contribution/partnered growth programs based on its opening of Hansik Space E:eum (e.g. interactive events and exhibitions co-hosted with local governments and Korean food-related organizations/companies, Korean food cooking classes for underprivileged people, opening of facilities (Hansik Library, gallery, etc.) for local residents).

In addition to these activities, the KFPI provided funding for non-profit organizations and social enterprises, participated in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s employment support program, raised funds for socially-underprivileged citizens, and participated in a program operated by the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

President Yim said, “The KFPI will maintain its commitment to partnered growth and continue conducting projects that address local needs via ESG management. We will do everything we can to fulfill our social responsibility as a public institution.”

KFPI Gains “Best Family-Friendly Management” Certification

Designation Will Be Valid until 2025

The KFPI (president: Yim Kyeongsook) announced on December 15, 2022, that it was designated as a “Best Family-Friendly Management” (BFFM) institution by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The award presentation ceremony for certified institutions/companies, which was held on December 14 at the headquarters of the Federation of Korean Industries, was attended by 91 of the 5,415 designees. The KFPI was selected to receive its certificate in person (on stage) because it received the highest score among newly-designated public institutions.

BFFM is a system that recognizes, through a strict screening process, companies and public institutions that have exemplary family-friendly operational systems. Assessed areas include the leadership style of upper-level management, implementation of family-friendly policies, and employees’ satisfaction with their company/institution’s family-friendly managerial practices. BFFM designees are eligible for benefits that can be of direct or indirect assistance to management, such as consultations funded by the central or local government or on-the-job training for employees. BFFM certification is valid for three years. The KFPI will maintain its status as a family-friendly institution until November 30, 2025.

The KFPI has implemented multiple policies for its employees that create a family-friendly work culture, such as a flexible work hour system, subsidies for childbirth/childrearing, and encouraging employees not to work overtime on “Family Day” (for public institutions, every Wednesday). Other family-friendly activities it has recently conducted include encouraging employees to use all of their vacation days, increasing the number of female middle managers, conducting campaigns aimed at streamlining inefficient work practices, offering classes on family-friendly corporate culture, and installing a nursing room at Hansik Space E:eum.

A KFPI spokesperson said, “We will not be resting on our laurels now that we have gained BFFM certification. We will, just as we always have, keep doing everything possible to make our corporate culture more family-friendly. We will also do our best to serve as an example to other institutions.”

KFPI Hosts Last Academic Seminar on KFPI and Korea Craft & Design Foundation

Fund Hanbok-inspired Uniforms for Overseas Korean Restaurant Franchises

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA; minister: Chung Hwangkeun) and the KFPI (president: Yim Kyeongsook) have, for the past few years, provided hanbok-inspired uniforms to Korean restaurant franchises that operate branches overseas. This activity, the goal of which is to improve the brand image of overseas Korean restaurants, is part of a larger project that has been conducted jointly with the Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF) since 2019, which aims to strengthen the competitiveness of overseas Korean restaurants by providing them with items and a brand identity that link the restaurant’s image to Korean culture.

This year, to more effectively convey Korea-inspired imagery, funding eligibility was expanded to include both franchise and non-franchise (independent) Korean restaurants located outside of Korea. Two franchise restaurants were selected after an information session/display for franchises that have debuted overseas, open application process, and assessment of several factors (restaurant location, plan for use of uniforms, PR plans, plan for conducting response survey of customers, etc.).

One of this year’s finalists, Nolboo, first branched out overseas in 1991 by opening a store in Malaysia. Since then, it has grown into a corporation that includes multiple Korean restaurants and is a leader of Korean cuisine’s globalization. The other finalist, DKORE, received a high score for operating 22 stores in Taiwan and establishing itself as a high-end Korean restaurant. After making some revisions to an already-developed hanbok-style uniform (based on the restaurants’ requests), uniforms were delivered in November to one Nolboo-owned restaurant in Japan and 10 DKORE locations in Taiwan. A spokesperson for one of the finalist restaurants noted that changing its suit-like uniform to the one provided by the KFPI has improved the store’s atmosphere (because the design matches the concept of the restaurant’s décor) and been well-received by customers.

President Yim said, “We hope that this year’s support for the purchase of Korea-inspired items and supply of hanbok-style uniforms help differentiate Korean restaurants overseas from those of other country’s cuisines. I also hope that they help foreign consumers think of Korean cuisine as something that can be low-brow or very elegant or high-end. I am confident that, amid the increasing importance, both in Korea and overseas, of offline restaurant experiences, the uniforms will assist in creating a spatial experience that is unique to Korean restaurants.”

In 2022, support was given for both hanbok-style uniforms and Korea-inspired items (to non-franchise Korean restaurants). The development and supply of Korea-inspired items began in 2019: as of December 2022, 562 items and 330 types of content have been developed, with 113 Korean restaurants worldwide receiving such items. The KCDF is responsible for developing and/or finding Korea-inspired items, while the KFPI is in charge of distributing them.