During a business trip to the United States this April, I experienced a deeply moving moment. It was the day I met local students at Democracy Prep Charter High School in New York's Harlem neighborhood. The school has gained fame for its Korean-style education, teaching the Korean language and taekwondo and holding a "Korean Kimchi Day" event where students make kimchi themselves.
We handed out gifts composed of popular K-food to the students, but one student held onto the gift package without opening it. While the other friends took out their favorite K-food to taste it, this student remained still. When I asked why, the student said, "I want to bring it home to my mother." I was deeply moved by the sight of the student smiling while carefully holding the package to their chest. It was because I felt that our traditions, culture, and sentiment were being conveyed to every corner of the world through K-food.
K-food is not simply food. Along with its taste and nutrition, it has combined with Korean culture to establish itself as content enjoyed by people around the world. That is why K-food exports carry meaning beyond goods crossing borders. It is the spread of Korea's unique identity to the world—in other words, the expansion of Korea's food territory. K-food is currently exported to 208 countries worldwide. This means K-food has taken root in more countries than the 193 UN member states.
The popularity of K-food is also proven by dazzling export figures. Preliminary K-food (agricultural and fisheries food) exports for the first half of this year are expected to record an all-time high of $7.2 billion (about 11 trillion won). This figure is up nearly 9 percent from the same period a year earlier. K-food export figures have set record highs every year for the past 10 years since 2015. K-food has elevated its status as food enjoyed by people worldwide even amid domestic and external uncertainties, largely due to the synergy created by K-pop, K-content, and K-food.
Accordingly, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) is also conducting "K-Food Fairs" in cooperation with major ministries, linked to the government's K-Initiative project. The "K-Food Fair × K-Expo" held in Los Angeles, U.S., and Paris, France, this year is a representative example. It is an event that links the K-Food Fair hosted by the corporation with the K-Expo hosted and organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency. From K-pop performances to K-cooking shows, the events are planned through inter-ministerial collaboration, providing an opportunity for diverse Hallyu consumers to experience K-food under the concept of "K-Food Seen in K-Content."
In addition, to realize the K-Initiative led by K-food, the "2026 Tokyo K-Food Fair+" will also be held in August. The focus is on expanding K-food into a K-lifestyle to promote it as a single cultural experience and to build a sustainable export foundation. It is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and aT, with participation from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, KOTRA, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Korea SMEs and Startups Distribution Center. As it happens, the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be held in Japan starting in September, drawing the attention of all of Asia, so it is expected to be a good opportunity to expand K-food's influence.
K-food contains the unique identity of the Korean people, who have continuously grown by overcoming limits and achieving harmony with the community. If semiconductors have driven Korea's economic growth until now, we must now cultivate K-food, which contains the taste and nutrition of Koreans, as one of the twin engines of exports and as a new growth driver for Korea.
