In a world where a single dish can carry an entire culture across borders, Arirang TV is turning the global hunger for Korean food into an invitation to explore the quieter, older corners of South Korea. Beginning October 14, the broadcaster's 'K-FOOD: Gyeongbuk Edition' will guide international audiences through four cities in Gyeongsangbuk-do province — Mungyeong, Pohang, Gyeongju, and Andong — using cuisine as the thread that binds history, landscape, and contemporary life together. The series reflects a broader human instinct: that the surest way to make a place feel real to a stranger is
Arirang TV Launches K-FOOD Series to Promote Gyeongbuk's Culinary and Cultural Tourism
Food as a passport to place and history
Mark
So this is a television show about food, but also about making social media content about food. Is that the actual premise?
Mimi
Yes, and it's worth taking seriously. The cast members aren't just eating on camera—they're shown creating posts and videos that will circulate independently of the broadcast. The show is teaching viewers how to experience these places in a way that's shareable.
Luke
But we should be clear: this is a promotional program funded by the broadcaster and presumably by regional interests in Gyeongbuk. It's not independent journalism. The cast members are there to make the places look appealing.
Mimi
True, but that doesn't mean the food or the sites aren't real. Mungyeong does have a coal museum. Pohang does have snow crab. The question is just what story gets told about them.
Mark
Why split the cast into two teams? Why not just follow one group?
Mimi
It creates variety and probably allows them to cover more ground in the same amount of time. Two teams can visit different attractions simultaneously, then come back together with their footage.
Luke
We don't actually know that from the source material. That's speculation. What we know is that there are two teams and they're visiting these four cities over four weeks.
Mark
What's the actual goal here? Is it just tourism, or is there something else?
Mimi
Arirang TV says it wants to boost Gyeongbuk's global tourism brand and revitalize regional economies. Food is the entry point, but the real aim is getting international visitors to travel there.
Luke
And we should note: this is a state-funded broadcaster promoting a specific region. That's a legitimate use of public media in many countries, but it's worth naming what it is.
Mark
Do we know if this strategy actually works? Has anyone measured whether food shows drive tourism?
Luke
Not from this source. We know what Arirang TV hopes will happen, but there's no data here about whether similar initiatives have succeeded.
O Pulso
- As Seoul continues to absorb most of Korea's international tourism spotlight, Gyeongsangbuk-do is making a deliberate bid to pull global visitors toward its ancient cities and coastal markets.
- Arirang TV's 'Taste Crew' — two teams of six cast members — races through four distinct regions in four weeks, sampling everything from snow crab on the East Sea coast to braised chicken in Andong's storied old market.
- The show's sharpest edge is its dual design: filmed for television, but engineered for social media virality, with cast members producing shareable content in real time as they eat, explore, and dance their way through each city.
- Each episode refuses to let food stand alone — dishes are embedded in heritage villages, Silla-era palace ruins, industrial rail bike routes, and contemporary attractions like Luge World, weaving appetite into a fuller sense of place.
- The initiative lands as a calculated economic strategy, with Arirang TV CEO Kim Tae-jeong positioning the K-FOOD wave not as a Seoul story, but as a provincial one — hoping curiosity about a bowl of mulhoe becomes a flight booked to Pohang.
In a world where a single dish can carry an entire culture across borders, Arirang TV is turning the global hunger for Korean food into an invitation to explore the quieter, older corners of South Korea. Beginning October 14, the broadcaster's 'K-FOOD: Gyeongbuk Edition' will guide international audiences through four cities in Gyeongsangbuk-do province — Mungyeong, Pohang, Gyeongju, and Andong — using cuisine as the thread that binds history, landscape, and contemporary life together. The series reflects a broader human instinct: that the surest way to make a place feel real to a stranger is to feed them first.
Arirang TV is betting that food can be a passport. On October 14, the South Korean broadcaster premieres 'K-FOOD: Gyeongbuk Edition,' a four-week series designed to draw international viewers into the culinary and cultural life of four cities in Gyeongsangbuk-do province: Mungyeong, Pohang, Gyeongju, and Andong. Airing Wednesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Korean Standard Time, the show represents a deliberate effort to convert the world's appetite for Korean food into sustained interest in regional tourism.
The series divides its cast — dubbed the 'Taste Crew' — into two teams who travel through each city sampling signature dishes, visiting historical sites, and participating in local activities. The show's real innovation, however, lies in what happens after: cast members transform their experiences into social media content designed to reach audiences worldwide. It is, in essence, a television program about creating the kind of content that travels fastest online.
Each episode anchors itself in a different city. Mungyeong offers a Coal Museum, a rail bike route, and spicy freshwater fish stew. Pohang takes the crew to Yeongildae Beach and Jukdo Market, where snow crab and chilled raw fish soup speak to the region's maritime identity. Gyeongju weaves together Silla-era palace ruins and clan houses alongside newer attractions aimed at younger travelers. Andong closes the series with Hahoe Folk Village and its celebrated braised chicken dish, Andong jjimdak.
What distinguishes the program from a straightforward food show is its refusal to treat cuisine in isolation. Cast members do not simply eat — they walk through heritage villages, visit museums, and perform a dance challenge that nods to viral content formats. The show is designed to be watched on television, but engineered to be shared online.
Arirang TV frames the initiative as part of a larger economic strategy: leveraging the sustained international momentum around Korean food culture to redirect attention toward regional destinations beyond Seoul. The series is, in effect, a four-week invitation to Gyeongsangbuk-do — one that tries not merely to sell a destination, but to make the world genuinely curious about why these places matter.
Arirang TV is betting that food can be a passport. On October 14, the South Korean broadcaster will premiere "K-FOOD: Gyeongbuk Edition," a four-week series designed to pull international viewers into the culinary and cultural life of four cities in Gyeongsangbuk-do province: Mungyeong, Pohang, Gyeongju, and Andong. The show airs Wednesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Korean Standard Time, and it represents a deliberate strategy to convert the global appetite for Korean food into sustained interest in regional tourism.
The series divides its cast into two teams—Team A includes Kwon Hyuk-soo, Yujeong, and Harin, while Team B comprises Shindong, Lim Do-hwa, and Seungwoo. These "Taste Crew" members travel through each region sampling signature dishes, visiting historical sites, and participating in local activities. But the show's real innovation lies in what happens after: the cast members photograph and film their experiences, then transform that material into social media content designed to reach audiences worldwide. It is, in essence, a television program about creating the kind of content that travels fastest online.
Each of the four episodes anchors itself in a different city and its particular offerings. Mungyeong's episode centers on the Coal Museum, a rail bike route, and Mungyeong Saejae—a mountain pass that carries both industrial heritage and natural appeal—while introducing viewers to spicy freshwater fish stew and Yakdol pork. Pohang takes the crew to Yeongildae Beach and Jukdo Market along the East Sea, where snow crab and mulhoe, a chilled raw fish soup, represent the region's maritime identity. Gyeongju's episode weaves together the National Museum, traditional clan houses, and Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, sites that speak to the ancient Silla kingdom while also offering newer attractions like Luge World aimed at younger travelers. Andong closes the series with Hahoe Folk Village, a mural district, and the old market, paired with dishes like heotjesatbap and Andong jjimdak—a braised chicken specialty.
What distinguishes the program from a straightforward food show is its refusal to treat cuisine in isolation. Each episode embeds local dishes within the broader landscape of history, geography, and contemporary experience. The cast members do not simply eat; they visit museums, walk through heritage villages, ride bikes, and participate in activities that connect food to place. They also perform a dance challenge, a deliberate nod to the viral content formats that dominate social platforms. The show is, in other words, designed to be watched on television but designed to be shared online.
Arirang TV, led by CEO Kim Tae-jeong, frames the initiative as part of a larger economic strategy. The broadcaster aims to leverage the sustained international momentum around Korean food culture—the so-called K-FOOD phenomenon—and redirect that attention toward regional destinations beyond Seoul. By promoting Gyeongbuk's culinary, historical, and natural assets to overseas audiences, the network hopes to strengthen the province's global tourism brand and generate economic activity in communities that have historically received less international attention than the capital. The series is, in effect, a four-week advertisement for Gyeongsangbuk-do, though one that attempts to do more than sell: it tries to create genuine curiosity about why these places matter and what makes them worth visiting.
Citações Notáveis
Arirang TV plans to extend the world's growing interest in K-FOOD to regional tourism in Gyeongbuk and contribute to enhancing Gyeongsangbuk-do's global tourism brand value— Arirang TV (via press release)
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