Yongin City to Host First "Baegok Rice Baking Championship" in Search of Local Bakery and Confectionery Masters

Yongin City Accepting Applications Until September 18
Baegok Rice Flour and Material Costs Provided
20 Finalists to Compete in City Hall on September 29
Grand Prize Includes Champion's Jacket and Flag

Yongin Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Sangil) is set to discover new baked goods and confectionery products made using Baegok Rice, a signature local agricultural product.

Front view of Yongin Special City Hall. Provided by Yongin City

On September 6, the city announced it is accepting applications for the "1st Yongin Special City Baegok Rice Baking Masters Championship" until September 18.

Held under the theme "Baking New Possibilities for Baegok Rice," the competition aims to expand the use of Baegok Rice into the fields of bakery and confectionery, and to discover representative local products with both marketability and popular appeal. The event is hosted and organized by the Yongin City Agricultural Technology Center, with collaboration and sponsorship from the Yongin branch of the Korea Confectionery Association.

Participants must develop and submit marketable products such as bread, cakes, baked goods, pastries, or desserts using Baegok Rice flour provided by the city.

To reduce participants' financial burden, the city will supply confectionery-use cake flour and bread-use strong flour, both made from rice, free of charge. It will also subsidize material costs needed for prototype development and the final round, providing up to 100,000 won per person.

Eligible applicants are proprietors or employees of bakery, confectionery, or dessert-related businesses located in Yongin. Participation is allowed even if the applicant's registered address is outside Yongin, as long as the business itself is within the city.

Applicants wishing to participate must submit an application form, a résumé detailing their professional experience, a description of the entry, photos of the entry, and a standard recipe either by email or by visiting the Yongin City Agricultural Technology Center in person, no later than 6:00 p.m. on September 18.

The city will select around 20 finalists through a document screening process. The finals will be held on September 29 in the Convention Hall on the third floor of Yongin City Hall.

Entries will be judged through a blind review in which participant information is concealed. Experts in bakery, confectionery, and food will evaluate each entry based on a total of 100 points: taste and texture (30 points), use of Baegok Rice (20 points), marketability (20 points), creativity (15 points), and appearance/design (15 points).

One winner will be selected for each of the Grand Prize, the Best Prize, and the Excellence Prize. The awards ceremony will take place on October 4 at the "2026 Yongin Special City Joa-Yong Food Festa" held at Yongin Mir Stadium. The Grand Prize winner will receive a champion's jacket, a championship flag, a trophy, and a certificate.

A city official said, "This is the city's first attempt to expand Baegok Rice as a competitive material in the bakery and confectionery industry. We hope a variety of products highlighting the unique characteristics of Baegok Rice emerge, creating new flagship goods for Yongin. We look forward to enthusiastic interest and participation from talented local bakery and confectionery professionals."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.