North Gyeongsang Province Goes All Out to Make the Food Hallyu Industry a New Growth Engine

【Financial News, Andong—By Kim Jang-wook】North Gyeongsang Province is going all out to make the food Hallyu industry a new growth engine for the region.
There is a clear reason North Gyeongsang Province is focusing on the food Hallyu industry. The global food market is projected to reach approximately $9.2861 trillion in 2025, while K-food exports are also growing rapidly.
North Gyeongsang Province has the nation's leading production base for agricultural, forestry, livestock, and fishery products, along with diverse traditional food culture assets and food-tech capabilities such as food robotics in Pohang, smart manufacturing in Gumi, and cell-cultured foods in Uiseong County.
The province believes food is one of the future industries in which North Gyeongsang Province can excel, as it can create greater added value by combining abundant raw materials with advanced technologies, businesses, culture, and tourism.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, "North Gyeongsang Province has everything needed to lead the food Hallyu industry, including abundant ingredients, an industrial structure built on the strengths of manufacturing, and the power of globally recognized culture." He emphasized, "North Gyeongsang Province will stand at the center of efforts to lead Korea's food Hallyu industry from the front lines of the national industrialization and globalization of K-food, while creating a new national growth axis as the next Hallyu."
Last August, the province established the Food Hallyu Industry Bureau, the first such bureau among regional governments nationwide. It also created a dedicated system to develop the food industry into a future convergence industry combining technology, businesses, exports, tourism, and content, rather than limiting it to agricultural and food processing.
Earlier, at the Central-Local Cooperation Council chaired by the president last August, Governor Lee proposed making the food industry a national future strategic industry. He presented a plan to turn North Gyeongsang Province into Korea's national food-industry test bed, connecting the entire process from raw-material sourcing to research and development, demonstration, production, corporate growth, and exports.
To put this plan into concrete terms, the province established three pillars: Korea's national food-industry test bed, a K-food corporate growth hub, and a global food Hallyu platform.
The first role is Korea's national food-industry test bed. The plan is to establish a full-cycle innovation system in North Gyeongsang Province, enabling companies that develop new foods to proceed from securing raw materials through research and development, demonstration, production, and market validation.
The second role is a K-food corporate growth hub. The province will connect technology, talent, market access, and export support so that food companies using North Gyeongsang Province's high-quality raw materials can launch, attract investment, and grow.
The third role is a global food Hallyu platform. The strategy is to expand the history and stories embedded in North Gyeongsang Province's food and ingredients into products, dining, experiences, and tourism.
In particular, the province is building a foundation for cooperation in the regional food Hallyu industry with 22 cities and counties, specialized institutions, and universities to put the three pillars into practice.
Meanwhile, the province plans to review the feasibility of proposed projects through working-level consultations in each field, while specifying the roles of individual institutions and their support measures.
[email protected] Kim Jang-wook Reporter