Joining NANRO Next as a mentor, Master Kwang-Hee Park once ran a restaurant in Seoul before moving her life, in 1996, to a small mountain village in Mitan-myeon, Pyeongchang. Over the three decades since, she has crafted more than 40 varieties of medicinal kimchi from all-natural ingredients alone. In 2002, at the "Kimchi Master Contest" co-hosted by MBC and Japan's Fuji TV, she was named a Master for her godeulppaegi (Korean lettuce) kimchi. Committed to fully handmade production using 100% local produce — never factory-scale — she has helped lead the movement toward premium kimchi. She is the Kimchi Master international outlets frequently reference when documenting the traditional methods of kimchi in its home country.
Master Park holds that as K-cuisine reaches out into the world, its roots must be all the clearer. Sincere in her wish to properly introduce Korea's rich fermented food culture to the world, she does not hesitate to share her know-how with many. It is in that spirit that she joins NANRO Next as a mentor — to guide younger chefs through the original grammar of Korean food: terroir, fermentation, and time.
