The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has organized an insect food tasting event in Seoul, with the aim of improving the public perception of edible insects and promoting the growth of the insect food industry. The event will run from Aug. 4-17 at the Nonghyup Hanaro Club in Yangjae-dong of southern Seoul and feature 19 insect-based food items made by four food companies, the ministry said.

Visitors can try out diverse foods that contain edible insects -- such as cookies, noodles, energy bars, protein shakes, ice cream, soup and seasoning made with crickets and darkling beetles. Special promotions are also available throughout the event period.


Korea has recently been exploring the culinary possibilities of insects, with the government supporting the expansion of the local edible insect market. The recent event is a part of such efforts, the ministry said.

In April, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs rolled out a set of legal support measures to increase the size of the nation’s insect market to 500 billion won ($449 million) by 2020, from 303 billion won in 2015.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)