Chef Lee Ha-sung — an alumnus of New York’s Atomix and Michelin three-star The French Laundry — has been named the inaugural fellow. Chef Cho Hee-sook, Ven. Jeong Kwan, and top chefs from Korea, the United States, Spain and Peru are joining the program.
Nanro Foundation, the hansik research organization, announced on October 31 that it had held the launch of NANRO NEXT — a program to cultivate the next generation of talent leading the global rise of hansik — and named its first fellow.
Nanro is a global exchange community and educational organization dedicated to nurturing and supporting future talent in Korean cuisine. Founded in 2022 as an industry group focused on hansik branding, it was formally established as a non-profit foundation in 2023.
Led by Chef Choi Jung-yoon — head of Sempio’s Woorimat Research Center and Korea chair of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (W50B) — the organization brings together more than 400 professionals from F&B, IT, media, finance and research. Its activities include the global hansik conference NANRO INSIGHT and the research and education program NANRO Academy.
NANRO NEXT is a new scholarship program designed to discover and develop future talent capable of leading the fast-growing global hansik industry. The launch event, held on October 30 at Dresden Green, a fine-dining restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, drew about 30 leaders including Chef Choi Jung-yoon (chair of Nanro in Korea and the U.S.) and Park Jung-eun, president of Nanro USA and head of the celebrated New York Korean restaurant Atomix. Chef Choi Hyun-seok of Choidot and Chef Park Ga-ram of Dresden Green hosted a four-hands dinner for the guests.
The event included a detailed briefing on the NANRO NEXT program, which runs simultaneously in Korea and the United States, and an introduction of the first selected fellow. Nanro plans to select 20 fellows across the two countries over the next year.
Selected fellows will receive a year of structured education and mentoring covering traditional hansik and K-food cooking, restaurant management, branding, marketing, design, and overseas internships, alongside opportunities to exchange between the two countries. The first fellow is Chef Lee Ha-sung, an alumnus of Atomix — recently ranked No. 1 in North America on the W50B list — and of the Michelin three-star The French Laundry. The remaining 19 fellows will be announced in stages.
Top chefs and experts from Korea and abroad are joining the program’s advisory bodies. The advisory committee, which oversees planning and fellow recommendations and selection, is chaired by Kim Ah-rin, CEO of Be My Guest. Chef Kim Hee-eun of the hansik fine-dining restaurant SOUL and Chef Jung Ji-sun of the Chinese restaurant Tian Mimi are joining the mentor group.
Nanro’s board of advisors includes Chef Cho Hee-sook of Hansik Gonggan, sachal (temple) cuisine master Ven. Jeong Kwan, and Lee Sang-hoon, head of TPG Korea. Members of NICA (NANRO International Chef Advisors) — Chef Park Jung-hyun of Atomix, Chef Virgilio Martínez of Central in Peru (W50B No. 1 in 2023), and Chef Oriol Castro of Disfrutar in Spain (W50B No. 1 in 2024) — are also lending their support.
“Through NANRO NEXT, we hope emerging talents in Korea and around the world will share their sensibilities and knowledge and together expand the new possibilities of hansik,” said Kim Ah-rin, chair of the NANRO NEXT advisory committee. “Nanro USA in particular will be a platform for hansik to engage with the world in a sustained, long-term way.”
· Original (Korean): m-i.kr
