Nanro Foundation wraps up its third NANRO Academy: "Passing traditional fermentation on to Korea's top chefs"

· NANRO Academy teaches traditional Korean food culture to Korea's leading chefs
· A structured curriculum with fermentation master Kim Myeong-seong, from meju-making to jang-담그기 (making) and jang-가르기 (separating)
· A modern continuation of Korea's UNESCO-inscribed "Culture of Jang-making," raising the value of hansik culture

Nanro Foundation (Chair Choi Jung-yoon), the non-profit dedicated to industrializing hansik and developing its next generation of talent, successfully wrapped up the third session of NANRO Academy — its education program on traditional Korean food culture — over two days on April 20 and 21.

NANRO Academy is Nanro's flagship program, designed for chefs and delivering both theory and hands-on practice around traditional hansik. To date, some 100 chefs have taken part, and it has established itself as a learning space where knowledge and practice reinforce one another. Session 1 was led on Jeju Island by Kim Mae-soon — the hansik art master known as the "Queen of Jeon" — who taught the essence, meaning, and techniques of Korean pan-fried jeon. Session 2 was led by Lee Sang-hee, director of the Tongyeong Food Culture Research Institute, who demonstrated the preparation and cooking of Tongyeong ingredients such as dried cod (geondaegu) and hapjajang, and took participants around the region's food producers.

Session 3, on the theme of "Korean fermentation," was held at the Kim Myeong-seong Fermentation Research Institute in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, and taught over three visits by fermentation master Kim Myeong-seong himself. The program was structured step by step so participants could learn Korea's traditional fermentation process from end to end — meju-making last December, jang-making in February, and jang-separating in April. Roughly 70 people attended the closing jang-separating session, including chefs from restaurants across many genres — Gucci Osteria, Geumdwaeji Sikdang, Dresden Green, Mater, Euljiro Boseok, Bonyeon, Soul Dining, Yun Seoul, Imok Smoke Dining, and Choidot among them — as well as figures from F&B, wellness, and IT.

Because the way the ganjang (soy sauce) and doenjang (soybean paste) are separated can determine whether the finished jang turns astringent, the class combined technical theory with hands-on practice. Beyond jang-separating itself, participants also learned how to care for jangdok (fermentation jars) from Master Kim and joined a special spring-kimjang session prepared for the group.

Chef Kim Hee-eun of Soul Dining, who attended, said, "It was deeply meaningful to be able to learn directly from Master Kim Myeong-seong through NANRO Academy." Chef Park Ga-ram of Dresden Green added, "As a chef trained in Western cuisine, it's hard to get into a Korean master's class. Through NANRO Academy I could learn about a precious heritage. I want to carry on Korean jang and Korean flavor, and bring them into my own cooking to develop something new."

Nanro chair Chef Choi Jung-yoon said, "NANRO Academy was the very first program we launched after Nanro was founded. This session was designed to bring fresh attention to the value of our traditional fermented foods at a moment when Korea's Culture of Jang-making is being spotlighted globally after its UNESCO inscription. We will continue to create diverse programs where chefs and industry practitioners can build expertise and exchange with one another."

Nanro Foundation is a global exchange community and education institution dedicated to nurturing and supporting the next generation of talent for Korean cuisine. It began in 2022 as an industry gathering focused on hansik branding, and was formally incorporated as a non-profit in 2023. Led by Choi Jung-yoon — head of research at Sempio and the current chair of the World's 50 Best Restaurants (W50B) for Korea and Taiwan — the organization now brings together more than 300 experts from F&B, IT, media, finance, and research, and runs a range of programs including the global hansik conference NANRO INSIGHT and the research-and-education program NANRO Academy.