Korean delicacies promoted in Laos
In its third successful year, the event was organised by Indoko, a Korean firm that manages restaurants here and imports Korean food products, to promote Korean delicacies in Laos.
Various activities were organiSed to draw the interest of festival goers, including cooking bibimbab (Korean dish), kimbab (rice rolled in seaweed) and kimchi (pickled vegetables).
Korean food outlets are springing up all over Laos, especially in Vientiane, and local diners have taken a shine to the cuisine, so the event’s popularity was no surprise.
The festival’s opening ceremony was held on Saturday and attended by Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Laos Yun Kang-hyeon.
“Korea has a famous film industry, and today, we present Korean foods. This event will boost ties between Korea and Laos. Besides this event, we will also organise a K-pop festival in November in Laos,” the ambassador said at the opening.
Following the opening, taekwondo players performed various martial arts techniques that drew a lot of cheers and the attention of the audience.
Then it was time for the highlight of the festival, making a huge dish of bibimbab, with an estimated weight of 140 kilograms to serve 700 people.
Bibimbab is made from various ingredients, such as rice, boiled bean sprouts mixed with salt, pumpkins, mushrooms, carrots, various types of meat, eggs, Korean chilli sauces and sesame oil. The ambassador, the company’s manager and guests were invited to mix the bibimbab at the ceremony.
Festival goers were full of praise for the delicious and original Korean taste of bibimbab. Next, some locals learnt how to make tuna and pork kimbab.
The organisers also held a session on how to make the very popular and famous Asian dish of kimchi.
Besides viewing the cooking of some special dishes, the participants also tried some other Korean food, such as instant noodles, drinks and sweets.
All participants at the event were handed out cookbooks, so they could prepare Korean cuisine at home.
The event also featured a food photo exhibition, and festival goers enjoyed some K-pop style singing and dancing, which added to the fun atmosphere.
Indoko has organised the annual festival since 2014, with the first held at the Talaatsao Shopping Mall. This year, the venue was changed to the Vientiane Centre.
The company says it plans to increase the number of festivals from one to three annually as of this year.
The second festival is set for November, with the third to be held in December.
The two-day event was co-organised by the aT Centre and Indoko.
The aT Centre is a state-owned company that supports Korean food distribution overseas.
Indoko manages K-marts in Vientiane, Vangvieng District, in Vientiane Province, and Luang Prabang Province. It also runs a Korean restaurant in Phonthan Village called KOKI and a Japanese restaurant called YUKI in Phonpapao Village.
A coffee shop in Phonxay Village called Coffee Tree also belongs to the company.
The festival was attended by President of the Korean Association Jung Woo Sang, President of Indoko Company Han Kyu Suk and representative of the aT Hanoi Branch in Vietnam Kim Dong Kwan.
