[Asia Economy·Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Joint Project] It's Time to Change These Eating Habits

Individual side dishes placed for each person, a shared ladle, and individual soup bowls. (Photo by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Amid increasing demands for improvements in Korean food culture triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, both inside and outside the dining industry and related academia are presenting practices such as sharing stew and side dishes together and multiple people using the same spoon as 'meal cultures that need to be changed' from a quarantine perspective. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is promoting measures to improve meal culture based on safety.

First, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has set ▲serving food individually ▲hygienic management of spoons and chopsticks ▲mask-wearing by staff as the three major meal culture improvement tasks and plans to promote meal culture improvement accordingly. The plan is to focus on achieving quick results centered on these three tasks, support local governments and the government to enable private sectors to autonomously implement them, and simultaneously induce service improvements in dining establishments and behavioral changes among consumers.

◆Designation of 'Safe Restaurants' for Hygienic Assurance= As detailed measures, the ministry will promote ▲presentation of excellent models and guidelines ▲expansion of the safe restaurant designation system and support for dining establishments' implementation ▲encouragement of public participation ▲activation of related industries supporting meal culture improvement.

In particular, the plan is to expand the 'Safe Restaurant' system, currently implemented by some local governments, nationwide. The designation plan was prepared to enable all local governments to implement it by integrating the purpose of safe restaurant operations by local governments complying with daily quarantine guidelines and the meal culture improvement measures promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Considering that some local governments such as Jeonnam, Daegu (Dong-gu), and Gwangju (Gwangsan-gu) are already implementing it, the government decided to present only the minimum basic requirements and allow local governments to autonomously determine specific names, designation requirements, and methods. The designation requirements for safe restaurants include the three major tasks: ▲provision of tools such as plates, tongs, and ladles for serving food individually ▲hygienic management of spoons and chopsticks such as providing individually packaged utensils ▲mandatory mask-wearing by staff in various forms including hygiene, health, and transparency. However, local governments may add requirements according to their circumstances.

Local governments already operating safe restaurants can use existing designation marks, and those newly operating safe restaurants will be provided with a designation mark design by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Local governments will attach designation marks (stickers, etc.) to restaurants designated as safe restaurants to inform consumers and encourage the use of safe restaurants among public officials and public institutions.

◆1,400 Safe Restaurants Nationwide, Government Actively Promotes= Along with this, the government will collect information on safe restaurants nationwide and provide it online to promote easy access for the public. As of the 19th, 1,400 safe restaurants have been designated by local governments, but priority will be given to designating model restaurants and those certified under the hygiene grading system to promote rapid expansion. Currently, there are 145 locations in the Jeonnam Gwangju (Gwangsan-gu) area, 60 in Incheon Metropolitan City, 115 in Daegu Metropolitan City, 145 in Gwangju Metropolitan City, 35 in Gyeongsangbuk-do, 40 in Gyeongsangnam-do, and 952 in Jeollanam-do.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to check the implementation status of meal culture improvements to encourage active participation and cooperation from local governments, spread best practices, and provide incentives such as awards to local governments with outstanding performance. Park Byunghong, Director of the Food Industry Policy Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "The need to improve our meal culture is higher than ever amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation," adding, "We will make efforts at the pan-government level to ensure the meal culture improvement measures are implemented without fail, and we ask for continuous interest and participation from local governments, dining establishments, and the public."

◆Campaigns for Meal Culture Improvement and Support for Related Industries= At the same time, to help the public empathize with the need for meal culture improvement and actively practice it, the ministry will promote publicity, campaigns, and education. First, excellent cases of meal culture will be introduced through TV lifestyle information programs, public service advertisements, and dramas to help the public understand the need for improvement.

Using social network services (SNS) such as Instagram, the ministry will promote the 'Less Serving Challenge' involving public participation and a nationwide campaign with celebrity participation relay certifications (videos practicing serving food individually, etc.). In cooperation with national consumer organizations, education on dietary improvement methods will be provided to consumers, and school education programs targeting children and adolescents will be developed to expand education for meal culture improvement.

Furthermore, to activate related industries supporting meal culture improvement, the ministry will support the development of excellent dining equipment and assist in commercializing innovative kitchen appliances and tableware ideas discovered through contests. Support will be provided for developing kitchenware using antiviral functional materials, and product promotion and overseas expansion support will be possible through dining and food expos.

In response to the increased demand for non-face-to-face services after COVID-19, support will be provided for building ICT-based ordering and store operation systems, developing food packaging technologies, and commercializing food tech technologies in the dining sector.

◆Establishment of Implementation Monitoring System= To achieve visible results in meal culture improvement, an implementation monitoring system will also be established. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a public-private joint promotion council consisting of related ministries, dining and consumer organizations, and experts will be formed to systematically manage the progress of meal culture improvement and strengthen cooperation and communication.

First, performance indicators for meal culture improvement will be set to regularly check progress, and behavioral changes of dining establishments and consumers will be periodically surveyed to supplement the improvement measures. Performance indicators are expected to be quantifiable, such as the rate of practicing individual serving, mask-wearing rates, and survey results on awareness among establishments and consumers. Additionally, to encourage active participation and cooperation from local governments, best practices will be disseminated, and incentives such as awards will be given to local governments with outstanding performance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.