Modern bulgogi



By Yun Suh-young

The top 10 dishes to represent Korea at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics were announced Monday by the Korean Food Foundation (KFF) and the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG).

The selected foods include grilled dried pollack with rice, potato bibimbap in buckwheat wraps, mushroom and corn porridge, simple glass noodles with sauteed vegetables, modern bulgogi, beef garlic kimchi rolls, rolled chicken in soup, tteokgalbi (short rib patties) with soup, three types of white kimchi and marbled rice cakes.

The dishes were unveiled during a presentation held in the Korean Cuisine Cultural Center at the K-Style Hub in Jung-gu, central Seoul.





Grilled dried pollack with rice



The "Top 10" menu project was a collaborative effort between the two organizations to promote Korean food to foreigners visiting Korea for the Olympics and encourage them to experience Korean cuisine during their stay.

To promote Korean food to people from around the world, the two organizations selected the top 10 dishes that they felt best represent the country and would be easily palatable for novices. The dishes were refined to incorporate modern trends with the existing traditions and identity of Korean cuisine.

The top 10 dishes were selected based on seven factors: identity, shape and form, taste, presentation and plating, table setting, eating methods and storytelling. The dishes were evaluated three times by a group of 10 local and foreign food experts over the past two months.





Rolled chicken in soup



"The dishes introduced today were refined from traditional Korean foods in a way that is easier for foreigners to eat," said Yoon Sook-ja, head of the Korean Food Foundation, during a presentation to the press, Monday.

"All of the dishes are bite-sized to facilitate consumption. We hope PyeongChang will be an opportunity to promote Korean food to a wider global audience and contribute to invigorating the food tourism industry in Korea."

Recipes for the top 10 foods will be published in a booklet and distributed to Korean embassies overseas, Agricultural Technology (aT) Center's overseas branches, Korean Cultural Centers overseas, Korean restaurants overseas and Korean food culinary institutes.

The Korean Food Foundation was established in 2010 for the globalization of Korean cuisine. It has distributed information on Korean food through Korean and English publications since 2013. Starting this year, the publications will be translated into Chinese for distribution in China and Taiwan.