(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yoon-gu = Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong held a meeting on the 15th to discuss the direction for the development of the K-Food Belt to promote food tourism.
The meeting, held at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, was attended by around 20 people, including representatives from the Korea Food Promotion Institute, the Korea Rural Community Corporation, and representatives from the travel industry (Norang Balloon, Korail Tourism Development) and the food industry (BBQ, Kyochon, Harim, Samyang).
This meeting was organized to discuss the status and direction of the K-Food Belt creation project being promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and to hear opinions from the industry on creating a food belt themed around K-Food, which has recently attracted attention, such as the Chicken Belt.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has been working on the K-Food Belt creation project since last year. Starting with the Jang (sauce) Belt in the Sunchang and Damyang regions, this year, they have been operating food belts featuring regional specialties such as Andong's traditional liquor, Gwangju's kimchi, and Gimsan's ginseng.
Last month, Minister Song announced at a cabinet meeting that they would also plan a Chicken Belt.
Specific plans for the Chicken Belt have not yet been revealed.
Among the chicken franchise companies, BBQ Chicken is discussing the creation of a BBQ Chicken street with Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province, where its first store is located.
Kyochon Chicken, together with Gumi City in Gyeongbuk last year, created a "Kyochon 1991 Cultural Street" centered around its first store in Songjeong-dong, Gumi, covering an area of about 500 meters.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to concretize the Chicken Belt tourism product and communicate through the Rural Regional Specialty Industry Promotion Task Force (TF), which includes related agencies, experts, and the industry.
Minister Song said, "Food goes beyond simple food to represent the culture and charm of a country, and I hope that the ideas from the field about the K-Food Belt will become a new growth driver for experiential food tourism in our country."