The Nanro Foundation, the non-profit dedicated to industrializing hansik, conducting research and cultivating the next generation of Korean-food talent, has helped introduce the value of authentic Korean cuisine to the world through a CNN documentary.
The documentary aired on December 21 last year (local time) on CNN’s U.S. and international channels, under the title “Two of the World’s Top Chefs Discover the Key to South Korean Cuisine.”
The film follows two chefs as they explore Korean food culture firsthand. CNN filmed the itinerary during their visit to Korea last April for Nanro Insight, the global hansik symposium hosted by Nanro. Alongside the immersive program that Nanro had put together, CNN highlighted the aesthetics of time and the value of harmony embedded in Korean cuisine.
The two featured chefs run the restaurants that topped the World’s 50 Best Restaurants — often called the Oscars of fine dining — in successive years: Central in Peru (No. 1 in 2023) and Disfrutar in Spain (No. 1 in 2024).
They visited Goryeo Traditional Foods’ Ki Soondo Traditional Jang in Damyang, South Jeolla Province, and Cheonjinam hermitage of Baekyangsa Temple in Jangseong. There they made jang by hand and prepared and tasted temple cuisine built on fermentation.
CNN described Korean jang as “a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and a foundational element in the seasoning of Korean cuisine,” and introduced Ven. Jeong Kwan of Cheonjinam as a master of Korean temple food.
“Buoyed by hansik’s global popularity, interest in authentic Korean food is growing across the world’s gastronomy scene,” said Chef Choi Jung-yoon, Chair of the Nanro Foundation. “The recent UNESCO inscription of Korea’s jang-making culture is evidence of that shift.”
The Nanro Foundation is a global exchange community and education institution devoted to cultivating and supporting the next generation of hansik talent.
· Original (Korean): realfoods.co.kr
