Korean Cuisine

[Anchor Lead]

Korean restaurants in China had suffered considerably as the Chinese government launched economic retaliations in the wake of the deployment of the missile defense system in Korea. However, interests in Korean cuisine seem to be reviving as a Korean cooking competition in which Chinese cooks make Korean food was held in Beijing to raving reactions.

[Pkg]

From potato pancakes from Gangwon-do Province to Eonyang bulgogi from Gyeongsangnam-do Province... dishes from all over Korea were brought to one place. These chefs cooking Korean food in an awkward yet careful manner are Chinese.

[Soundbite] Zhung Xiaoxiao(Participant) : "Carp is rich in protein and is in season now. You know it's better to boost health with food than with medicine, right?"

This is the final round of a competition sponsored by Korean restaurants in Beijing to promote Korean cuisine. Nineteen preliminary matches were aired live on Huajiao Zhibo, the Chinese version of YouTube, and garnered more than 20 million viewers, demonstrating Chinese people's keen interest in Korean food.

[Soundbite] Li Chong(Contest Participant) : "Korean food is healthy and I think I can create rich flavors with only simple ingredients."

Over the past year, ten out of 65 Korean-run restaurants in Beijing closed down. China's economic retaliation over the missile defense system in Korea is still hurting Korean businesses.

[Soundbite] Jang Yun-ho(Dir., Korean Cuisine Cultural Center) : "Korean restaurants were suffering, but many people came to the Korean Cuisine Experience Center to help promote Korean culinary culture."

But the locals claim that interests in Korean food are coming back, judging from the fact that more than half of the customers at Korean restaurants are Chinese and an increasing number of
Chinese chefs want to run Korean restaurants.