President Kim Jae-soo of Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. gives his speech at a ceremony to open a 

K-Food Fair in Shanghai, China, from June 26-29 this year among a number of key cities in the world including 

New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs jointly with the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. (aT) held the 2013 K-Food Fair in Shanghai from June 26-29, the first such event to be held in Shanghai, designed to expand the exports of Korean food by creating a demand by the Chinese, the two partners said recently.

The event is a new type of integrated exposition that is taken to famous localities to meet with local buyers in order to publicize the food and also hold sales talks at the same time, an integrated exposition in many respects, said the two co-hosts of the event.

The two partners held similar events this year in such popular cities as Hanoi, Vietnam in September, Los Angeles and New York in October, and Hong Kong in November.

The major concepts of the K-food fair in Shanghai were “premium” and “health” with the slogan being healthy K-food that mothers and babies enjoy. This is the core part of the marketing strategy stressing the excellent nature of Korean food with its health content taking a hint from Chinese trends that emphasize the health of families with babies.

Talks on the purchase of Korean food took place at the Shanghai Hilton on June 26-27 with some 50 Korean food companies participating to deal with some 160 buyers from the Chinese sphere including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.

Korean food exporters included six traditional food companies such as Shinsong Food, seven health food makers with products such as red Ginseng, and six fisheries food makers, all of them stressing safety and trust in dealing with Korean food makers.

All told, 50 Korean food makers present at the K-Food Fair consisted of 11 milk product makers, nine integrated food makers, eight beverage producers including tea makers, seven health food makers, six fisheries food makers, six traditional food and sauce makers, and four wine makers. 

What’s so different from the past food expos has been the introduction of an art gallery concept into the K-food exhibitions for the sake of the buyers and to make Korean food look better.

On the second day of the K-food Fair in Shanghai, a media day was held and attended by local dignitaries, importers, local companies related to the food industry, and local media people to publicize Korean food by making them an issue and a big news item in Shanghai.

Hallyu star Chang Seo-hi, who also doubles as a K-Food Ambassador, took part in explaining what makes Korean food such as noodles, boiled chicken with ginseng, and yuja tea so nice to consumers and what they could be if combined with Chinese delicacies. The K-Food Fair also took time out to thank the local importers of Korean food by presenting them with a plaque of appreciation. Yeo In-hong, Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs presented the plaques.

A Korean food stall in one of the K-Food Fairs held around the world this year,

 including Shanghai, China, New York and Los Angeles.

What stood out during the Shanghai event was the Korean Food Festival held at Seki Plaza, the most glittering part of Shanghai, where 21 Korean food items were presented for the viewers not only to see but also taste so that their popularity would be further enhanced all over China.

Just like the slogan of the event, mothers, babies, and families watched the performances of robots, traditional plays for families, and K-pop dances, an evening full of cultural events to let the Chinese viewers know about K-Food through diverse events.