A Street for Kimhae's Famous 'Dwitgogi' Praised by Food Critics Will Open Soon

"Those who have not tried Gimhae Dwitgogi should not discuss pork."

One of the famous local delicacies of Gimhae, Gyeongnam, introduced in Heo Young-man's 'Sikgaek 2,' the 'Dwitgogi' street is being established.

Gimhae City announced on the 3rd that it has designated the 'Dwitgogi Street' ahead of the 2024 Year of Visit Gimhae and the National Sports Festival.

Dwitgogi.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

According to the city, Dwitgogi, which originated in Gimhae, got its name because in the past, slaughterhouse technicians gathered leftover parts after trimming and selecting the main cuts and traded them behind the scenes.

It consists of mixed cuts such as eye cheek, cheek meat, tongue meat, and pork jowl, offering excellent cost-effectiveness, making it beloved by the common people, and is counted as one of the four delicacies among the nine selected foods of Gimhae.

The Dwitgogi Street is planned to be formed along a 600m section from Busan Cafe in Bonghwang-dong to Bongridangil House, and from Dongne Coffee in Buwon-dong to Oseong Coffee Shop, where Dwitgogi restaurants are densely located in Bonghwang-dong and Buwon-dong areas.

On the map, the street forms a shape symmetrical to the Korean letter "giyeok" (「).

Location map of Dwitgogi Street, Gimhae, Gyeongnam. [Image provided by Gimhae City Hall]

A city official explained that this area has a favorable distribution of Dwitgogi restaurants compared to other commercial districts and is advantageous in accessibility due to concentrated main transportation networks such as the light rail and buses, contributing significantly to revitalizing the old downtown commercial area.

The city's pig farming scale is 104 farms with 197,000 pigs, ranking first in Gyeongnam, and it has the nation's largest comprehensive livestock distribution center (slaughterhouse), capable of slaughtering 4,500 pigs and processing 2,000 pigs daily.

Dwitgogi is processed at 5 tons per day and can supply 45 kg each to 111 specialized Dwitgogi restaurants throughout Gimhae, which corresponds to 300 servings when considering 150g as one serving.

This year, in the first phase, the city will establish a branding strategy to give the product an image, gather citizen proposals, commercialize Dwitgogi as a representative food, and promote marketing targeting generational preferences.

In the second phase, by August 2024, the city will develop a brand image BI, build infrastructure such as shared and convenience facilities in Dwitgogi Street, conduct restaurant service training, and provide hygiene consulting.

This month, the city’s Livestock Division, Gimhae Bio Industry Promotion Agency, and Gimhae Cultural Foundation will form and operate the 'Gimhae Dwitgogi Policy Council.'

The Gimhae Dwitgogi Policy Council will establish an organic cooperative system for the early revitalization and successful operation of Dwitgogi Street, sharing roles among institutions based on expertise and experience in their respective fields.

The city’s Livestock Division, as the general department for designating and managing the Dwitgogi Street policy, will enact the 'Gimhae City Dwitgogi Street Creation and Support Ordinance' and support budgets for infrastructure construction and strengthening restaurant capabilities.

Additionally, it plans to improve the street’s landscape facilities, discover and certify Dwitgogi restaurants, manage food hygiene in restaurants, promote via SNS, and operate city tours and fam tours of Dwitgogi Street.

The Gimhae Cultural Foundation will be responsible for Dwitgogi branding, including strategic research, recipe and menu development, storytelling, video content production, and youth entrepreneurship support.

The Gimhae Bio Industry Promotion Agency will propose content and policies for the creation of Dwitgogi Street and share policies with the city by collecting consumption trends and citizen opinions.

Mayor Hong Tae-yong said, "In celebration of the 2024 Year of Visit Gimhae and the National Sports Festival, we will link Dwitgogi Street with existing tourism content and promote differentiated marketing to revitalize the old downtown commercial district and local economy by strengthening policy and financial support."

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