First time-ever: South Korean Buddhist nun brings vegetarian Korean temple food to India
Korean temple food master Venerable Jeong Kwan is on an India visit as part of the cultural exchange event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Korea-India diplomatic ties.
NEW DELHI: Having introduced Korean temple food globally that has preserved vegetarian food traditionally Venerable Jeong Kwan, master of temple food has for the first time reached India to make people aware of this traditional food that has formed one of the roots of Korean traditional food. Jeong Kwan along with Wookwan was named Master of Korean Temple Food by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, last year. She has travelled all over the world and introduced Korean temple food.
Venerable Jeong Kwan, master of temple food, will is organizing a dinner reception on 21st March (Tuesday) at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea for Indian people with her cooking. She will attend Chandiwala Culinary Institute (BCIHMCT) New Delhi on 23rd March (Thursday), and GD Goenka University-Le Cordon Bleu on 24th March (Friday) at Delhi NCR for giving special lecture and demonstration of Korean temple food.
The final open Korean temple food demonstration and experience will be held at Korean Cultural Centre India on 25th March (Saturday) at 11 am and the program for renowned Indian chefs & Media will be held at 3 pm.
In accordance with the teachings of Buddha who respected life, Korean temple food has preserved vegetarian food traditionally and it has formed one of the roots of Korean traditional food. It will be the first time for this Korean temple food to be introduced to the Indian public, media and local renowned chefs through an official event at Korean Cultural Centre India on this coming 25th March by Ven. Jeong Kwan.
Venerable Jeong Kwan, a master of Korean temple food, joined the Buddhist priesthood at Yang Jin Am of Dong Hwa Temple in Mt. Palgong at the age of 18 in 1974 along with her Korean Buddhist temple food cooking journey.
The reason how Ven. Jeong Kwan became famous as a world-class chef is that Eric Ripert, a famous chef in New York, USA, captured a week-long documentary video at Baek Yang Temple in 2014, and in the following year, Ven. Jeong Kwan was invited to New York at the premiere of the work, ‘Chef’s Table’ to prepare VIP dinner reception with her own cooking.
Later, ‘Chef’s Table’ became more famous as it was invited to the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in 2017 through Netflix. Since then, Venerable Jeong Kwan has traveled all over the world, including Switzerland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, to introduce Korean temple food.
Korean Ambassador to India Chang Jae Bok said, “In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and India, the Buddhism and Buddhist cultural exchange program, which can be the foundation of the special strategic partnership between Korea and India, has a special meaning. Since Buddhism and Buddhist culture were introduced to Korea in the 4th century, they have been an indispensable core part when talking about the Korean way of life, way of thinking, and traditional Korean culture. Korea and India, the origins of Buddhism, are also closely connected through Buddhism.”
