Cheonji Ilbo | NongHyup Holds Symposium to Make the Year of the Ox a Founding Year for Hanwoo Culture
NongHyup Economic Holdings' Livestock Economy Division held a symposium at its Seoul head office on April 29, 2021 to establish a Hanwoo culture for the Year of the Ox. Following a keynote address by cartoonist Heo Young-man, NongHyup Livestock Economy CEO Kim Tae-hwan, Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, and Maeil Business Newspaper agricultural reporter Jeong Hyuk-hun gave presentations followed by a panel discussion.
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[Cheonji Ilbo = reporter Kim Hyun-jin] NongHyup (Chairman Lee Seong-hui) Economic Holdings' Livestock Economy Division held a symposium on establishing a Hanwoo culture for the Year of the Ox on the 29th at the head office of NongHyup Central Union in Jung-gu, Seoul.
The symposium was held in strict compliance with quarantine guidelines given the COVID-19 situation, and was also live-streamed via social media to minimize the number of attendees.
The symposium was organized to mark the Year of the Ox by adding value and culture to Hanwoo beef, promoting its development into a sustainable future industry, and was attended by livestock organization leaders including members of the National Livestock Cooperatives Operating Council and the Association of Hanwoo Cooperative Chairpersons, as well as the head of the Korea Hanwoo Association and the chair of the Hanwoo Self-Help Fund Management Committee.
The symposium opened with a video congratulatory address by Lee O-ryeong, honorary professor at Ewha Womans University and Korea's first Minister of Culture, and proceeded with a keynote address by cartoonist Heo Young-man, well known for works such as "Sikgaek" (The Gourmet), on "Koreans' Special Love for Hanwoo," followed by presentations and a panel discussion featuring NongHyup Livestock Economy CEO Kim Tae-hwan, Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, and Maeil Business Newspaper agricultural reporter Jeong Hyuk-hun.
NongHyup Livestock Economy CEO Kim Tae-hwan gave a presentation on the theme "Dreaming of a Hanwoo Culture Renaissance," saying, "The Hanwoo industry is enjoying unprecedented prosperity, and yet many farming households feel anxious about tomorrow. Going forward, Hanwoo must be more than just meat — and that something more is culture," and announced that NongHyup would pursue strategies of familiarization, knowledge-building and issue-raising to promote Hanwoo culture year-round.
Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, known as the "idol of Korean painting," then gave a presentation titled "Cattle in Famous Paintings," introducing cattle in history and in famous Korean and international paintings, and discussing the role of cattle throughout Korean culture and art. Reporter Jeong Hyuk-hun of Maeil Business Newspaper's agricultural desk spoke on "The Dignity of Hanwoo, Seen by a Specialist Reporter," calling for elevating Hanwoo's status as the world's finest premium beef to overcome the industry's crisis.
In the panel discussion, the three presenters discussed ways to add value to Hanwoo and build a culture around it rather than treating it merely as a food product, so the public can share and connect with that value, and called on each symposium attendee to become an advocate for Hanwoo culture.
NongHyup's Livestock Economy Division said this symposium marks the start of a full-fledged journey toward a Hanwoo culture renaissance, and that it will work to energize the Hanwoo industry as it looks to the future, promising a range of events throughout the year so that farming households and the public can experience and enjoy a Hanwoo culture that satisfies all five senses.