PRESS RELEASE
No.	PR/18-43	Date	21 November 2018
Contact	Contents Inquiries: Park Kyoung, Senior Officer, CTU (+82-2-2287-1133, kpark@aseankorea.org) Press Inquiries: Kim Ji-won, Assistant Officer, IDU (+82-2-2287-1145, hjs@aseankorea.org)
ASEAN-Korea Centre is an International Organization mandated to promote economic and socio-cultural cooperation between ASEAN Member States and Korea.

ASEAN Culinary Festival to bring Koreans closer to Gastronomy Tourism of ASEAN

- Taste the authentic dishes, desserts, and drinks of ASEAN and enjoy a live cooking show and performances -

- ASEAN-Korea Centre to organize the 2018 ASEAN Culinary Festival (11.28-12.1, COEX, Seoul) -

Seoul, Korea– The ASEAN-Korea Centre (Secretary General Lee Hyuk) will organize the 2018 ASEAN Culinary Festival from 28 November to 1 December 2018 at the COEX (Hall D), Seoul, Korea. The Festival will feature ‘Live Cooking Show’ with celebrity chef Lee Wonil (Korea) and Dato’ chef Ismail Bin Ahmad (Malaysia). It will also present ‘ASEAN culinary booths’, ‘ASEAN Drinks booth,’ and public events that offer information on gastronomy tourism in ASEAN countries and giveaways, along with traditional ASEAN performances.

Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korean Centre noted that “ASEAN is the most favored tourism destination for Koreans, where 7.5 million Korean tourists visited last year. One of the reasons behind this would be delicious ASEAN cuisines such as the Vietnamese ‘Pho’ and the Thai ‘Tom Yum Goong’ which have gained huge popularity in Korea. With ‘Gastronomy Tourism’ emerging as a worldwide trend, the importance of developing this market in ASEAN was highlighted by the Tourism Ministers of the 10 ASEAN Member States during a Ministerial Meeting in January this year. Against this backdrop, the Festival will present not only the ASEAN cuisines that are already well-known in Korea but also an array of new authentic tastes from across the region. Although gastronomy tourism development in ASEAN is only in the early stage, the ASEAN-Korea Centre will undertake diverse programs to enable the Korean public to discover the new charms of ASEAN’s gastronomy tourism.”

Particularly this year, ‘rice’ has been selected as the signature ingredient for the Festival to allow visitors to discover how rice-based foods have been modified by different cultural settings, climatic conditions, and societal norms in 10 ASEAN countries. For example, ‘Pho’ is known to the Korean public as the Vietnamese noodle, yet there are other kinds of rice noodles in different ASEAN countries such as ‘Pher’ in Lao PDR, ‘Laksa’ in Singapore, and ‘Nan Gyi Thoke’ in Myanmar. Guests at the Festival can also taste exotic desserts made from coconut, tapioca, and other tropical ingredients. At the ‘ASEAN Drinks booth’, a wide range of beverages will be offered ranging from coffee from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, mango juice from the Philippines, to milk teas from Malaysia and Thailand.

The Festival offers detailed information about what it is like to taste the original ASEAN dishes. It also provides the stories behind each of the unique cuisines through the ‘ASEAN Gastronomy Tourism’ public event. Also, the traditional ASEAN performance will entertain the visitors twice a day throughout the four-day Festival.

Those who want to enjoy the Festival can get free coupons by participating in the ‘ASEAN Travel Mobile Application’ event at the ASEAN culinary booth, located at Hall D (3F), COEX, Seoul. or making registration via internet (https://www.ticketmonster.co.kr/deal/1602643634).

[Attachment]

- Press release file

- Attachment 1: Key Visual

- Attachment 2: List of main dishes and desserts

- Attachment 3: List of beverages

- Attachment 4: Photos from 2017 ASEAN Culinary Festival