Traditional Food Trend

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Efforts continue to rediscover traditional Korean food that caters to the modern palate. Take a look at the transformation of tasty and nutritious traditional foods.

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This farm produces the fast-fermented bean paste called Cheonggukjang. Cleanly washed beans are boiled in a cauldron for 8 hours. Then they are fermented for 3 days at a specific temperature and humidity inside a fermentation cellar with walls made from fire tree lumber. This method eliminates the unique odor of the bean paste. The odor-less cheonggukjang specifically targets young consumers. Customers in their 20s and 30s have nearly doubled in just 3 months of sales.

[Soundbite] Seo Bun-rye(Master Traditional Sauce Maker) : "I thought of ways to make the bean paste odorless to better cater to young people. Individually packaged units also allow for convenient consumption."

This store selling the traditional rice wine Makgeolli is located in Seoul's Gangnam area which is frequented by a large number of young people. A full brewing facility is installed in the middle of the store from which makgeolli is produced. The store has also developed various flavor variations such as mango and blueberry in efforts to ease any resistance to the traditional spirit by younger clients. Traditional foods that have mainly targeted customers in their 50s and 60s are evolving by the day to attract the tastes of young Koreans.