{"id":88182,"date":"2026-02-13T20:12:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T23:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/892214980"},"modified":"2026-02-13T20:12:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T23:12:40","slug":"korea-emerges-as-global-hub-for-food-tech-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/korea-emerges-as-global-hub-for-food-tech-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Korea emerges as global hub for food tech innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lee<\/p>\n
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Lee Ki-won, left, food tech professor at Seoul National University, and So-jung Trinity Park, director of The Trinity, at the World FoodTech Council’s headquarters in Seoul \/ Courtesy of The Trinity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Technology is reshaping nearly every stage of how we eat \u2014 from distribution and selection to purchase and consumption.<\/p>\n

Lunch arrives with a tap on a delivery app. Groceries appear at the door hours after an online order. Some consumers now pay using nothing more than their face, while others ask artificial intelligence (AI) assistants what to eat or which coffee beans suit their taste. <\/p>\n

For Lee Ki-won, a food tech professor at Seoul National University (SNU), this is not a passing phase but a preview of where the global food industry is headed.<\/p>\n

With an academic background in food science and biotechnology, he founded the FoodTech Department at SNU six years ago and runs the FoodTech Emergence Center on campus, where students are trained to build food tech businesses. <\/p>\n

Food tech refers to technologies applied to food consumption and distribution, which Lee distinguishes from traditional food technology. <\/p>\n

\u201cFood technology has more to do with production, using engineering and science, often traditional science,\u201d Lee told The Korea Times in an interview in Seoul, Feb. 9. \u201cFood tech is about technologies involved in distributing and consuming food.\u201d<\/p>\n

The professor believes Korea is at the forefront of food tech globally, thanks to giants such as Samsung Electronics.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople search for what to eat using artificial intelligence embedded in Samsung devices and cook with appliances Samsung makes. They also use Samsung devices and apps to monitor their health and take that information into account when deciding their next meals,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

The professor also predicts that robots powered by physical AI will soon dominate kitchen work. \u201cThe core of food tech is physical AI \u2014 who else will cook, deliver or manufacture food, if not AI robots?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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gettyimagesbank<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Building global platform <\/strong><\/p>\n

With the conviction that Korean food tech companies are among the world\u2019s leaders, Lee, together with a group of like-minded people, founded the World FoodTech Council and launched the World FoodTech Forum in 2024. The second forum took place in Seoul in December last year. <\/p>\n

\u201cEducation and various technologies were crucial in transforming a poor country like Korea into one where people now eat well,\u201d the professor said. \u201cIn that sense, Korea could serve as a model for other countries or even become a platform for such initiatives. We\u2019ve thought deeply about food issues and built numerous businesses around them. To spread these technologies or business models globally, we need a world-class forum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s forum was particularly significant because a law promoting Korea\u2019s food tech industry took effect in the same month.<\/p>\n

Lee envisions the forum as more than just a showcase of Korean technologies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe forum isn\u2019t just about making money. The goal of the World FoodTech Forum is also to help address some of the problems the world is facing,\u201d he said, adding that global population growth and environmental challenges require greater awareness of sustainable food consumption.<\/p>\n

He also aspires for the forum to become a bigger global event, saying, \u201cAsia needs an iconic event that the world can talk about and we believe food tech can be that.\u201d<\/p>\n

To highlight global perspectives, the 2025 forum invited former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, citing Germany\u2019s stronger environmental awareness. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlternative meat failed in the U.S. but it\u2019s selling in Germany,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s more consciousness around nature and consumption in Germany.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lee hopes the next edition, slated for December, will attract more international figures and elevate Korea as the leader in global food tech, setting international standards and trends. <\/p>\n

“That will be ‘K-bap,'” he said, using the Korean word meaning “rice” or “meal” with the now-familiar K prefix. “The way Koreans enjoy food using their own devices and technologies will become a style.” <\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n
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Artist Lee Wan gives a performance based on “Dots Transmitted Analog” and “Made in Korea: Water., Fire, Wind, Heir” at the World FoodTech Forum in Seoul on Dec. 4, 2025. Courtesy of The Trinity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Art meets food tech<\/strong><\/p>\n

Technology alone isn\u2019t enough to drive the future of food. So-jung Trinity Park, director of The Trinity, believes that art has the power to take food tech even further, especially when paired with environmental, social and governance (ESG) values.<\/p>\n

To realize this vision, Park joined forces with professor Lee and invited artist Lee Wan, who represented Korea at the 2017 Venice Biennale, to present a special exhibition and performance at the World FoodTech Forum.<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s work invites viewers to reflect on the unseen labor and power structures behind something as simple as a bowl of rice. <\/p>\n

\u201cA single grain becomes a meal, a meal becomes happiness for a family, and that meal becomes part of a culture, part of a nation\u2019s identity,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n

Park, who served as artistic director for the project, said she wanted to amplify the forum\u2019s core themes \u2014 the future direction of food tech and five key challenges \u2014 using the expressive tools of contemporary art. <\/p>\n

\u201cRather than a typical vision declaration ceremony, we wanted to fuse modern art with new technologies to deliver a deeper message,\u201d she told The Korea Times. \u201cFrom food insecurity to power imbalances in the global food industry, artists are already exploring these urgent issues and this forum offers a platform to do so in new ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee Wan\u2019s 2024 contribution drew on his acclaimed \u201cMade in\u201d series, which delves into the cultivation and processing of food products across Asia. That year, he presented a cereal box\u2013inspired installation and a millstone performance using salt he had harvested. In 2025, he returned with “Origins in a Single Grain, Visions for Tomorrow,” once again spotlighting crops like rice, sugar and palm oil, all grown through his own labor and reflecting the pressures of global capitalism.<\/p>\n

\"So-jung<\/p>\n
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So-jung Trinity Park, director of The Trinity, speaks at the World FoodTech Forum in Seoul, Dec. 4, 2025. Courtesy of The Trinity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He also staged an archery performance based on “Dots Transmitted Analog” and “Made in Korea: Water, Fire, Wind, Heir.” Instead of a conventional ribbon-cutting, dignitaries at the forum each made a dot symbolizing values such as humanity, life and environment, which Lee transformed into part of his live performance. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core, the bow and arrow are ancient food technologies,\u201d Park explained. \u201cThey enabled humans to hunt, survive and feed their communities. In that sense, archery is a symbol of our earliest food tech.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World FoodTech Forum also featured cutting-edge installations like the “Memorial Food \u2018Lib\u2019 (Life of Bite)” exhibition by DISCO Lab at SNU, where visitors interacted with brain-computer interfaces, neurogastronomy and liquid food printing technology to unlock their own flavor memories. <\/p>\n

In Park\u2019s view, this is how art can bridge ESG and innovation \u2014 not by simplifying complex messages but by deepening public engagement.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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