A spectacular culinary feast featuring fresh ingredients grown in the pristine nature of "Eco-Capital Suncheon" will unfold this summer. With a cooking show by Chef Choi Hyun-seok, known from "Culinary Class Wars," added to the lineup, food enthusiasts are turning their attention to Suncheon.
Suncheon City will hold the "2026 Suncheon Culinary Week" for eight days from the 20th to the 27th. Under the slogan "Where Taste Meets Art," this year's event will be promoted as a summer gastronomy festival blending Suncheon's food resources with artistic content. Citizens and tourists can enjoy the unique flavors and sensibilities of Suncheon with all five senses by eating, watching, experiencing, and staying throughout the city.
"The 2026 Suncheon Culinary Week will feature on-site events at Nammunteo Plaza from the 20th to the 21st, followed by a culinary journey connecting various parts of Suncheon, including food tours and a healing gastronomy trail run, from the 22nd to the 27th," Yang Hyo-jung, Director of Suncheon City's Culture and Tourism Bureau, explained on the 2nd. "During the Nammunteo Plaza on-site event period, which marks the start of the festival, we will operate a food market, culinary experiences, Chef Choi Hyun-seok's cooking talk show, a local chef talk show, certified Suncheon restaurant tastings, and photo zones."
In particular, during Suncheon Culinary Week, the downtown plaza will be transformed into a culinary square where citizens and tourists can eat, rest, and enjoy themselves, infused with Suncheon's flavors and summer sensibility.
This year's on-site event will be enriched through a partnership with the Garden Art Festival held in conjunction with the Korean Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations. Performances, exhibitions, and hands-on programs will be added to the culinary content showcasing Suncheon's flavors, transforming the Nammunteo Plaza area into a summer festival venue where taste and art flow together.
The most eye-catching program is Chef Choi Hyun-seok's cooking talk show. Chef Choi will bring Suncheon's local ingredients and products from regional companies to the stage, reinterpreting Suncheon's flavors through his culinary sensibility.
Beyond a simple cooking demonstration, the event aims to be a stage where ingredients grown in the region and the dedication of Suncheon's businesses come together on a single plate, creating a win-win culinary platform that connects local resources to the city's story and ultimately to tourists' memories. On-site tasting opportunities will also be provided, allowing visitors to sample dishes prepared by Chef Choi for a special gastronomic experience.
The stage of Culinary Week extends across all of Suncheon. Programs that follow the city's spaces and stories will unfold, including food tours linking traditional markets and local venues, culinary programs capturing the atmosphere of Naganeupseong Folk Village, and a healing gastronomy trail run combining walking and tasting in nature.
Through this Suncheon Culinary Week, the city plans to revitalize the old downtown and local commercial districts, expand Suncheon's food resources into cultural and tourism content, and enhance the brand value of Suncheon as a city of gastronomy.
