Baedal Minjok, Korea Foodservice Industry Association Successfully Conclude 'K-Jang Wellness Cooking Contest'

Restaurant Owner Kim Young Wins First Place with "Jujube Gochujang Tteokbokki"
Winning Recipes to Be Shared Free Through Training Classes

“Premium Gimbap and Jujube Gochujang Tteokbokki” took first place at the “K-Jang Wellness Cooking Contest,” jointly hosted by Baedal Minjok and the Korea Foodservice Industry Association on October 22 to mark Foodservice Workers’ Day.

Participants pose for a commemorative photo after a cooking competition held on the 22nd at the Baemin Academy Gyeonggi Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. (From sixth on the right: Kim Wooseok, chairman of the Korea Restaurant Owners Association; master artisan Ki Sundo; Professor Lee Nagyeom of Jangan University; and chef Ahn Yuseong.)

The event was organized to reinterpret “the culture of making jang in Korea,” inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024, for use in restaurants and to boost restaurant owners’ pride in their work. Twenty restaurant owners who passed the preliminary round competed with wellness menus featuring gochujang, doenjang and ganjang.

The first-place prize, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association Chairman’s Award, went to Kim Young, who runs the Korean restaurant Yeondaebokmun Urizip in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Three entrants shared second place, the Baedal Minjok Award: “Spicy Jeyuk and Giant Mud Snail Ssam Bap with Low-Sodium Tofu Egg Ssamjang” by Kim Junyeong of Yukildon; “Blueberry Sweet-and-Sour Pork and Jajangmyeon with Patented Chunjang” by Kim Gyuhyeon of Hyowadang; and “Gochujang Sea Bream Chazuke and Jeju Doenjang Mulhoe Sauce Nanbanzuke” by Lee Seungwoo of Tokyo Saikabo. The Best Recipe Award, given for third place, went to “Abalone Blossomed with Janghwajang” by Pyeon Mihee of Osaekochan.

Kim Young, the first-place winner, said, “I entered because I was curious about what dishes the other owners make with our jang and wanted to learn from them, and I ended up receiving this wonderful award. I believe that good food makes good people, and that making good food is a good thing.”

The judges included Ki Sundo, Korea’s 35th Food Master; chefs Jeong Jiseon and An Yuseong; and Lee Nagyeom, head of the Department of Food Care at Jangan University. The panel selected the winners based on an overall assessment of how the jang was used, taste, menu execution and the feasibility of serving the dishes at restaurants.

Chef An Yuseong said, “Jang-based sauces are gaining recognition worldwide for their appeal among fermented foods. Although jang is something we encounter all the time, this cooking contest gave us a meaningful opportunity to think about it anew.”

The winning recipes will be shared free of charge with restaurant owners nationwide through online and offline training classes. Baedal Minjok plans to release a highlights video featuring the final-round event and interviews with the winners through the Baemin Academy and Korea Foodservice Industry Association official channels.

Kim Wooseok, chairman of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, said, “This contest was organized to creatively reinterpret our proud tradition of jang for modern times and to have the foodservice industry take the lead in shaping a new food culture. I am confident that these creative dishes will eventually be widely adopted by restaurants and provide a strong way to bring new energy to the struggling foodservice industry.”

Kwon Yonggyu, head of the Baemin Academy division at Woowa Brothers, said, “We are delighted to have organized this meaningful event with the Korea Foodservice Industry Association to mark Foodservice Workers’ Day. It was an opportunity to see how our jang culture, recognized by UNESCO, can be transformed by restaurant owners into new signature dishes at their establishments.”

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