Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing said Friday that he attended an event marking South Korea’s first Korean Food Day and that culinary exchanges can bring the people of the two countries closer.
In a post on X, Dai said he was honored to be invited to the event, where he heard first lady Kim Hye-kyung speak about Korean food culture.
“Food is the exchange bond closest to people’s daily lives and warmest to their hearts,” Dai wrote, according to a translation of the post. He said China and South Korea are geographically close and culturally connected, with a long history of food exchanges.
Korean food is popular among young people in China, Dai said, while Chinese dishes and snacks such as roast duck, spicy hot pot soup, candied hawthorn skewers and new-style tea drinks have become widely enjoyed in South Korea.
Dai said travel between the two countries is expected to exceed 10 million people this year. He said he hoped both sides would use food to build emotional ties and strengthen public support for friendly relations.
The three-day festival, held at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, is hosted by the agriculture and foreign ministries. Oct. 24 was designated this year as a national commemorative day for Korean food.
