A specialty food ingredient Japanese restaurant opens in Wolchulsan, Yeongam.

(Yeongam=Yonhap News) Reporter Jo Keun-young = Yeongam County, Jeonnam Province announced on the 29th that a Japanese restaurant named 'Mori:Talk' using Yeongam agricultural and special products as ingredients will begin operations at the entrance of Cheonhwangsa in Wolchulsan National Park. Mori:Talk is set to offer dishes such as eel rice bowl, Hanwoo rice bowl, and salmon rice bowl using fresh, high-quality ingredients from Yeongam, including Yeongam's "Giunchan Cheonha eel," which ranks second in freshwater eel farming in Jeonnam, to tourists visiting Wolchulsan and Yeongam residents. This restaurant was opened with the help of the "Empty Store Filling Program," which is part of Yeongam County's comprehensive plan to develop food content. This is a mutual investment project that aims to utilize empty stores to support youth entrepreneurship and settlement, expand sales channels for local agricultural and special products, and ensure food diversity. Yeongam County expects this project to firmly establish itself in the region, just like 'Jangsanli Futgotgan,' which opened its second branch in Yeongam-eup last year, and 'Cheonsaeng Yeongam Mutjip,' which is bustling with customers at the site of President Wang In's doctor, run by Chef Cheon Sang-hyeon, the president's chef. Earlier this year, the county provided Mori:Talk, which was selected in the project bidding, with 450 million won for store remodeling and offered services from startup planning to aftercare. In particular, Chef Cheon from Cheonsaeng Yeongam Mutjip participated in the consulting for the third branch of the Empty Store Filling Project, attracting attention by passing on know-how on menu composition, basic cooking skills, and store operation. The county announced that Mori:Talk plans to add menus using local agricultural and special products such as figs and pears. Yeongam County Mayor U Seung-hee said, "I hope that the young representative of Mori:Talk will introduce the special flavors of Yeongam, such as Giunchan Cheonha eel, Yeongam Hanwoo, figs, and pears, to the whole country." chogy@yna.co.kr