1. “Voice of Youth,” one of the teams conducting the Foreign Ministry’s people-participated public diplomacy projects in 2017, has successfully completed in Europe its Hansik (Korean food)-promotional “One Bowl” project. For the project, the team had received applications in advance from the countries it visited; selected the applicants with interesting Hansik-related anecdotes and later made Korean dishes with them; and promoted the project online. After conducting a two-month pilot program with a foreign family in the Republic of Korea, the team implemented the project in five European countries, including Spain, Italy and Greece, starting from July 9.

° The project participants not merely played a role in the promotion of Hansik but also made “One Bowl” dishes with locals, which served as an opportunity for both sides to better understand each other’s cultures and engage in communication. The local participants invited their neighbors and friends over to enjoy the food together and actively promoted the “One Bowl” dishes on their SNS pages. The “Voice of Youth” team uploaded the recipes and the whole processes of cooking on its YouTube channel and Facebook page for promotion.

※ The video clips are available for viewing at http://m.facebook.com/2017Voiceofyouth.

2. In Spain, the first leg of its tour, the team made with Javier Garcia Cortes and his family “Spanish-style manduguk (dumpling soup),” a fusion of traditional Korean mandu and Spanish tortilla with eggs and potatoes. In Belgium, local college students joined the team to make “Belgian-style fusion tteokbokki (spice rice cakes)” by combining Korean tteokbokki and traditional Belgian mussel dish, with butter added to it.

° Sarah Adarous, a 24-year-old student at the Ceria Coovi cooking school in Anderlecht, Belgium, said, “It has been my long-cherished dream to visit the ROK. I really appreciate the team bringing Korean food to Belgium, and the experience made me more determined to follow my dream and visit the country,” adding that she planned on visiting the ROK in 2018.

3. At the Spanish Square in Rome, Italy, the team conducted a “One Bowl special corner” event, during which it made and shared “Margherita gangjeong (deep-fried, sweet puffs)” with some 100 locals in a Hansik promotional activity. In Denmark, together with Johanne Fick, a restaurant manager who had visited the ROK, the team combined Korean bulgogi (barbecued beef) with cold salmon salad and a Belgian-style sandwich to create “fusion Smørrebrød.”

° Johanne Fick, a 31-year-old Dane, spoke about the impact Korean food had on the life he is living, saying, “During my visit to the ROK, I was fascinated by pork belly and wanted to introduce it to the Danes, but couldn’t under Danish law. However, I have not given up on my dreams about cooking, and now I am working as a restaurant manager.” The 21-year-old leader of the “Voice of Youth” team commented that “By communicating through and sharing the food, I came to see the charming side of public diplomacy.”

4. The Foreign Ministry is conducting public diplomacy projects actively participated by people. Going forward, it will carry out cultural diplomacy in a way that uses Korean soft power and wins hearts of people.


* unofficial translation