A festival of traditional Korean food, known as hansik in Korean, kicked off in Seoul on Thursday as South Korea pushes to promote the country's food culture around the world, the government said.

The two-day 2018 World Hansik Festival, featuring cooking shows by star chefs and a program of making traditional Korean pastes, among other events, is taking place at the Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said.
 
The event, the third of its kind, was launched due to the growing worldwide attention drawn by hansik in recent years thanks to the popularity of Korean pop culture and cooking shows.

The ministry said various dishes using traditional pastes will be introduced at the festival to help consumers better understand Korean cuisine. (Yonhap)