South Korea-based food company CJ CheilJedang has revealed plans to launch a new pop-up Korean restaurant in Seoul as part of the Cuisine K project.
The project is claimed to be the first of its kind by CJ CheilJedang and is designed to discover and nurture aspiring chefs and boost the global expansion of Korean food.
The new restaurant is expected open in the second half of this year.
The Korea Economic Daily reported that the restaurant will be situated on Tehran-ro Street in the affluent Daechi-dong neighbourhood of Gangnam. It will occupy the first floor of Innoplay, which serves as a hub space for the company's in-house ventures and divisions.
This restaurant will allow chefs to freely explore innovative domestic cuisine and consumers without worrying about failure.
According to industry sources, CJ CheilJedang plans to conduct open recruitment for chefs next month.
Selected chefs can operate the restaurant for three months with no requirement for funding.
Cuisine K's chief growth officer Lee Sun-ho will take the lead in organising the pop-up event.
Lee Sun-ho formed the Hansik (Korean Food) 245 Team with the aim of promoting Cuisine K.
The team plans to initiate a Korean food lecture series for culinary school students abroad, where they will learn about Hansik ingredients from Korean master chefs.
By 2030, the team aims to establish an international Korean culinary school, which will serve as South Korea's version of France's Le Cordon Bleu.