Public Home Shopping said on the 26th that it will air a special program for the Lunar New Year holiday bringing together products by "Korea Master Artisan of Food."
Korea Master Artisan of Food is a system run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to carry on and develop outstanding traditional foods. Candidates include people who have worked in the food field for more than 20 years, and selections are made by evaluating authenticity, value of succession, and other factors.
Ahead of the holiday, Public Home Shopping has prepared a special "Master Artisan of Food fair" from the 26th for three weeks to spotlight products by 14 masters. It will sell items including ▲ Master Oh Hee-suk's "traditional bugak (fried seaweed chips)" ▲ Master Moon Eun-hee's "jin myeongran (premium salted pollack roe)" ▲ Master Park Mi-hee's "Domisol kimchi" ▲ Master Lee Geum-seon's "fermented flatfish" ▲ Master Choi Myeong-hee's "Andong Jebiwon meju (soybean starter blocks)" ▲ Master Kim Gyu-heun's "nutrition bars."
Since its launch in 2015, Public Home Shopping has steadily sourced products by master artisans to support sales channels for traditional Korean foods. Last year, it introduced a variety of products, including traditional sauces and pastes, kimchi, jeotgal (salted seafood), hangwa (traditional confections), and gopchang-gim (roasted seaweed), recording more than 70 billion won in sales.
A Public Home Shopping official said, "Buoyed by the gourmet boom sparked by cooking competition programs, products by master artisans are also gaining strong popularity," and added, "We hope you enjoy a bountiful holiday with our foods imbued with masters' secrets."