Have you heard of Korea's own pig, Nanchukmatdon?
Uncovering regional ingredients — and letting them meet cooking — is how an industry gets built. Bringing companies, local governments, food researchers, and chefs together to clear a path for those ingredients is a shared homework assignment for the future of Hansik. In that spirit, Chef Hong Shin-ae of the restaurant Salt put together a program to spread the word about Jeju's native black pig. Kim Eung-du, CEO of Neulpureun Farm — a raiser of the Jeju native black pig, designated as Natural Monument No. 550 — spoke about the value of the native breed and why it matters that Korea holds its own breeding stock.
Dr. Cho In-cheol of the National Institute of Animal Science laid out the backstory of how Nanchukmatdon, Korea's own pig breed, finally came into the light, and Byun Young-jun, CEO of Jeju Dream Pork, went deeper into what makes Nanchukmatdon so compelling. Because Korea's pork market runs so heavily on grilling, the country imports roughly 330,000 tons of pork every year — which raised an open question the group also worked on: what would it take to steer more of the eating toward our own pig? For the drinks that would go with Jeju's meat, Kwon Jin-ju, Vice President of Jeju Beer, took the lead. The group toured the Jeju Beer brewery on the island and tasted the different flavors of Jeju side by side — a chance to glimpse how region, industry, and cuisine can grow together.
