Research Reports
A Study on the Korean Food Related Policy
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AuthorHwang, Yunjae
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Publication Date2014.12.30
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Original
Background of Research
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) has pushed for the ‘Korean Food Globalization Policy’ since 2008 to increase the global awareness of Korean cuisine and create added economic values from it. However, as various issues have surfaced, some challenges surrounding the policy arose. Consequently, the MAFRA has renamed the policy from the ‘Korean Food Globalization Policy’ to ‘Korean Food Policy’ to expand the scope and targets being covered by the policy and set out the ‘Korean Food Policy Advancement Plan’ as part of its diverse efforts and attempts to improve the policy. The change in the policy approach however, brought about a criticism that the concept and scope of the policy has become unclear and this could interrupt the comprehensive and systematic progress of the ‘Korean Food Policy.’
Against this backdrop, this study has the objective to conduct an overall review of the current status of the government’s Korean food policy and highlight the areas for improvement to achieve the originally intended and other derived benefits of the Korean food policy, including the increase of the country brand value, through systematic, comprehensive and strategic implementation of the policy.
Method of Research
This study places a main focus on the Korean food related policies which have been pursued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) and its affiliated agencies. The ‘Korean Food Policy Advancement Plan’ announced in January 2014 is the primary focus of the study, and any other policies released prior to the time were categorized as ‘Korean Food Globalization Policy’ while any policies issued after the timeline were categorized as ‘Korean Food Policy.’ In order to identify the concept of the Korean foods and research the case studies of domestic and foreign traditional food policies, data collection, visiting related organizations and request for professional advices were used as study methods. The Korean food policy perception survey was conducted against domestic consumers, foreigners residing in Korea and experts of the related fields.
Research Results and Implications
The government’s Korean Food Policy should be pursued to provide a long-term vision for i) integrated policy operation, ii) policy balance and iii) global expansion of Korean foods. Under the basic framework, the government needs to i) refine the policy implementation system, ii) improve the foundation for policy implementation and iii) develop plans for more active implementation of Korean food policies.
First, the Korean food policy implementation system needs to be refined. While the current Korean food policy simply lists policy items and projects, it is more desirable to prioritize them, and build strategies and consider operation plans based on the priorities.
Second, as a way to improve the basis for policy implementation, the organization dedicated to Korean food policies needs to be established. Then it could enable more systematic and integrated implementation of related Korean food policies which have been pursued separately to date and it could coordinate, link and adjust the policies pursued by different departments and organizations. At the practical level, the roles and functions of organizations engaged in the initiative should be clearly defined, and the business presence should be established overseas for more effective and actual deployment of policies and business. Also building collaboration networks among organizations engaged in Korean food business should be considered and there should be the legal basis supporting the continued and stable policy implementation.
Third, for further promotion of the Korean food policy, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive strategy covering not only industries directly related to ‘foods’ but also the related industries and build the strategy of linking related industries. To promote Korean foods, provide training and information, develop the marketing strategies for the Korean food companies and improve their competitiveness, various researches and studies should be continuously conducted not only concerning R&D for technology and product development but also concerning PR, marketing, experience events and education. The Korean food status research, which has been performed mainly in other countries so far, should be expanded to collect basic data for domestic policy making and systematic strategy establishment. In this context, i) the market and industry research on domestic Korean foods and ii) the behavior research of domestic consumers and foreign residents toward Korean foods need to be conducted on a regular basis. Additionally, considering the current pattern of independent pursuit of the Korean food policy projects, a model for linking these projects should be developed to bring more synergy and economic effects through the linkage and convergence of Korean food policies and projects.
Researchers: Hwang Yun-jae and Lee Dong-so
Research Period: 2014. 1. ~ 2014. 12.
E-mail address: yjhwang@krei.re.kr
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