Amid growing global interest in K-Food and regional culinary flavors, Gyeongsangbuk-do has embarked on creating a new regional growth engine by fostering the "Food Hallyu Industry" as a core growth sector for the 8th popularly elected term.

The reason why Gyeongbuk has focused on the food Hallyu industry is clear. The global food market is a massive market projected to reach approximately $9.2861 trillion by 2025, and K-Food exports are also growing rapidly. The food industry has a wide value chain spanning from agricultural, forestry, livestock, and marine products production to manufacturing, processing, distribution, export, dining out, tourism, festivals, and cultural content. It is a representative convergence and composite industry that can lead to corporate growth, investment, job creation, and the revitalization of the local economy.

In particular, Gyeongbuk possesses top-tier national production bases for agricultural, forestry, livestock, and marine products, diverse traditional food culture assets, and food-tech infrastructures such as food robots in Pohang, smart manufacturing in Gumi, and cell-cultured foods in Uiseong. Given that greater added value can be created by combining abundant raw materials with advanced technologies, corporations, culture, and tourism, the provincial government has determined that the food sector is one of the future industries that Gyeongbuk can excel at the most.

8th Popularly Elected Term Establishes Organization to Foster Food Hallyu Industry as Future Growth Engine

On June 12, during the first employee meeting day following the local elections, Governor Lee Cheol-woo stated, "When the 4th Industrial Revolution, where machines replace labor, is completed, the era of the 5th Industrial Revolution will arrive, centered on human creativity and the value of a life of eating, playing, and enjoying." He expressed his strong will, saying, "As global interest in Korean cuisine grows due to the craze for the globalization of K-content, we will intensively foster the food Hallyu industry."

Accordingly, in August, Gyeongsangbuk-do established the "Food Hallyu Industry Bureau" for the first time among metropolitan local governments nationwide, establishing a dedicated system to foster the food industry not merely as agri-food processing, but as a future convergence and composite industry combining technology, corporations, exports, tourism, and content.

In addition, Governor Lee Cheol-woo proposed the "National Future Strategic Industrialization of the Food Industry" at the Central-Local Cooperation Meeting presided over by the President last August, presenting a vision to make Gyeongbuk a "Republic of Korea Food Industry National Testbed" connecting everything from raw material procurement to R&D, verification, production, corporate growth, and exports.

To materialize this, Gyeongbuk-do has set three major directions: ① National Testbed for the Food Industry, ② K-Food Corporate Growth Base, and ③ Global Food Hallyu Platform.

Developing and Verifying in Gyeongbuk to Go Global... Presenting National Testbed Vision

The first role Gyeongbuk-do aims for is the "National Testbed for the Food Industry." The vision is to establish an innovation system in Gyeongbuk across the entire cycle, allowing companies to proceed from raw material acquisition to R&D, verification, production, and market verification whenever they develop new food products.

By linking food-tech infrastructures such as Pohang’s food robots, Gumi’s smart manufacturing, and Uiseong’s cell-cultured foods with the specialized capabilities of universities and research institutes, the province plans to resolve technical bottlenecks in corporate fields and enhance commercialization potential. Product development utilizing regional raw materials and manufacturing process innovation will also be promoted together to expand the strengths of raw materials into technological and manufacturing competitiveness.

Already, with the groundbreaking of the Korea Food Research Institute Gyeongbuk Branch on September 16 and the completion of the Food Robot Food Tech Research Support Center on September 17, the foundation for R&D and verification infrastructure in the food industry is being laid. Through a business agreement (MOU) in the precision fermentation sector on September 10, industry-academia-research cooperation has been expanded, and a corporate support system spanning from the development of future food technologies to field application and commercialization is being built.

Furthermore, the province plans to concretize implementation tasks linked with national policies, such as designating the food industry as a strategic industry and providing integrated support including regulatory exceptions, finance, talent, and technology.

Connecting Regional Raw Materials and Corporations... Fostering K-Food Corporate Growth Bases

The second role is the "K-Food Corporate Growth Base." Gyeongbuk connects technology, talent, sales channels, and export support so that food companies utilizing Gyeongbuk's superior raw materials can start businesses, invest, and grow.

Strengthening the link between local agricultural and fishery products and corporations allows farmers to secure stable sales channels, while companies can develop differentiated products utilizing excellent raw materials. Here, processing technology, brand, design, and distribution capabilities are added to enhance the added value of regional raw materials.

Last July, an investment and business agreement was concluded between Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gumi-si, and Ottogi Ramyun Co., Ltd. to enhance the global competitiveness of K-Food, promoting an investment worth 200 billion won and expanding the production base of the local food industry and entry into global markets.

In addition, the province seeks to combine the startup, investment, and sales channel functions of corporate support institutions with the R&D, technology transfer, and talent training capabilities of universities. By linking certifications, localization, and export support required during the overseas market entry process, the province plans to back companies that grew in Gyeongbies to advance into the world market.

Transforming Ancient Cookbook Recipes into Tourism and Content... Establishing Global Food Hallyu Platform

The third role is the "Global Food Hallyu Platform." This is a strategy to expand the history and stories contained in Gyeongbuk’s food and ingredients into products, dining out, experiences, and tourism.

Traditional food culture assets possessed by Gyeongbuk, such as Eumsik Dimibang, Suun Japbang, and Siui Jeonseo, will be reinterpreted in a modern way, and the K-Gastronomy Belt vision connecting regional representative foods, traditional markets, festivals, and tourism resources will be materialized.

Through this process, tasks in which local restaurants, food companies, tourism, and content companies can participate together will be discovered, developing products and services that modern consumers can enjoy while preserving the values of tradition, thereby enhancing Gyeongbuk’s unique food Hallyu competitiveness.

Cooperating with 22 Municipalities, Universities, and Specialized Institutions... Turning Visions into Implementation Tasks

To materialize the three major directions, Gyeongbuk-do is building a regional food Hallyu industry cooperation base together with 22 municipalities, specialized institutions, and universities.

On September 1, a meeting of vice-mayors and vice-county governors from the 22 municipalities was held to share the provincial policy direction and listen to opinions on regional food industry resources, corporate difficulties, and gastronomy tourism linkage plans. The intent is to lay the foundation for joint growth by connecting the ingredients, food companies, food, and tourism resources possessed by each municipality.

Subsequently, an industry-academia-research cooperation seminar was held with the participation of provincial investment and contribution institutions, universities, and food and food-tech experts. The province decided to discuss new policy tasks and ways to link central government projects with participating institutions, universities, and experts, and to concentrate professional capabilities in the fields of R&D, verification, commercialization, talent training, tourism, and content.

Gyeongbuk-do plans to review the feasibility of proposed tasks through sectoral working-level consultations while concretizing roles and support measures for each institution. Ordinance arrangements to strengthen the basis for fostering and supporting the food Hallyu industry, as well as global foreign guest-inviting gastronomy events on the occasion of the Gyeongbuk Food Expo and Provincial Citizens' Day, are also being planned.

Gyeongbuk’s Flavors to the World, the Fruits of the Food Industry to the Provincial Citizens

Ingredients placed on holiday dining tables and handed-down culinary skills contain the region's natural environment, devotion, and unique lifestyle culture. The experience of enjoying local food and sharing stories with family also serves as an opportunity to continue the tradition of Gyeongbuk’s food culture and publicize its value.

Gyeongbuk-do plans to connect everything from product development to global market entry for traditional foods and traditional liquors by combining advanced technology and culture with superior ingredients, so that the region's unique food culture assets lead to industrial outcomes. Under the goal of "Food, Beyond Hallyu into an Industry," the province plans to enhance the competitiveness of Gyeongbuk food and traditional foods, ensuring that the results lead to farm household income, corporate growth, and local jobs.

Gyeonggisanbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo stated, "Gyeongbuk is a region fully prepared to lead the food Hallyu industry, equipped with abundant ingredients, an industrial structure strong in manufacturing, and world-class cultural power. At the forefront of national K-Food industrialization and globalization, Gyeongbuk will stand at the center of leading South Korea’s food Hallyu industry and creating a new national growth axis as the Next Hallyu."

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]