KF뉴스레터-Experiencing World Cultures through Food

Experiencing World Cultures through Food

A delightful way to learn about the traditions and way of life of a country’s people is through its food, one of the diverse components of an overall culture. At the recent FOODEX JAPAN, the largest exhibition of food and beverage products in Asia, there was something for everyone to enjoy.

In today’s global village, in which international exchange is on the rise, much can be learned about foreign people and cultures through their food, which incorporates their traditions and way of life. Experiencing world cultures through food! What a delightful and satisfying learning process. All of this and more were on display at FOODEX JAPAN 2008, an international exhibition of food and beverage products held in Tokyo, Japan (March 11-14). For visitors, there was something for everyone to enjoy, along with enhancing their knowledge and understanding about the food and cultures of people from all over the world, with an endless variety of things to see, smell, and taste. However, it was also apparent that the exhibition served as a battleground for the food businesses of individual countries to engage in fierce competition to attract new customers and expand their market share.

International Food Exhibition
FOODEX JAPAN, the largest food and beverage exhibition in Asia, and the third-largest in the world, has been held annually at Makuhari Messe, Chiba Prefecture, nearby Tokyo, since 1976. Co-organizers of the exhibition include the Japan Management Association, Japan Hotel Association, and Japan Restaurant Association. The event is also supported by various relevant organizations, including Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, along with the Japan External Trade Organization. With the participation of 2,412 companies from 65 countries in the 33rd FOODEX JAPAN event this year, the exhibition provided an all-in-one venue for individual businesses and countries to introduce and promote their respective agricultural, food, and beverage products to the event’s 95,000 visitors, which included those involved with the manufacture and distribution of food items, as well as regular consumers.

Korean Exhibition Section
Korea’s annual exports of agricultural/food products to Japan is valued at about $646 million. Japan is the No. 1 market for Korea’s agricultural/food exports, accounting for a 25 percent share. Related organizations in Korea, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation, coordinated the establishment of a Korea country section, in which 98 food enterprises and industry groups from Korea exhibited their products to the distributors, retailers, and consumers in attendance.
The Korean section included 187 booths, encompassing a total area of some 1,683 square meters, representing the largest presence among Asian countries and second-largest among international participants, behind only Italy. With so much attention being focused on food safety in Japan, the Korean exhibitors emphasized the sanitation and quality controls of the agricultural and food products of Korea. The Korean exhibition included a booth dedicated to Korea’s leading export items, including kimchi, ginseng, and traditional alcoholic beverages.
There were a variety of events to attract visitors, including kimchi-making demonstration and sampling of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages, along with efforts to promote the health benefits of Korea’s fermented food culture.

Enhancement of National Image
In addition to the Korean booths, I also looked over the booths of other countries to learn about their food products and promotion methods. Catching my eye first was the large exhibition area of Italy. As would be expected, pasta and pizza were the main food products on display, along with the high quality of Italian wine products being actively promoted through sampling events and informational presentations. A Japanese-language restaurant guide, published by the Italian Trade Commission, provided information on about 4,000 Italian restaurants in Japan, including location, contact info, and operating hours. When you visit an Italian restaurant, there is almost always a flag or map of Italy on a wall. Though hardly noteworthy, this is nevertheless a straightforward example of how a national brand can be promoted in conjunction with a country’s food culture.
My journey of world food cultures continued until the closing time. I visited the Spanish booths where I tasted "jamon", a drycured traditional Spanish ham; the Mexican booths that offered nacho and taco samples from event staff wearing sombreros; the exhibition area of France that touted its top-quality wine and representative Western cuisine; the Thai booths where a Miss Thailand participated in the promotional activities; and the Colombian booths that promoted its premium coffee products.
Even a half-day visit was not nearly enough time to walk through the endless row upon row of exhibition booths.
In the recent Tokyo edition of the Michelin Guide, a highly reputed guide of popular restaurants worldwide, Tokyo was cited as one of the world’s top cities for food. Similar to kimchi, "makkeolli", a traditional Korean rice wine, has been steadily gaining acceptance among Japanese consumers, as evidenced by a five-fold jump in export volume in the past seven years. Based on this success, there seems to be vast potential for Korean food and beverage products, if properly developed and promoted, to become popular with consumers in all corners of the world. To further expand the export of its agricultural/food products, it is necessary to actively promote the food culture of Korea, rather than simply marketing the products themselves. Perhaps the Korean Wave, which thus far has been centered on the TV dramas, feature films, and pop music of Korea, can momentum for the spread of Korea’s food culture and products.

한국국제교류재단

Experiencing World Cultures through Food

SEARCH

Experiencing World Cultures through Food

SEARCH

전체메뉴