Olive Magazine Korea Food Market

This month is Olive magazine Korea’s one year anniversary, and to celebrate they’re holding a food market on April 23, in Seongdong-gu.

I don’t know anything about Olive magazine back home or in the UK or anywhere else, but it’s been an enormous help to me in finding out what’s happening on the Korean food scene this past year. They also offer really nice fusion and modern Korean recipes, as well as interesting reinterpretations of foreign dishes that don’t go beyond the bounds of what it’s possible to procure in Korea. Every month they do a special about some aspect of food — organic farming in Korea, gochujang making, raising hanu beef cows, the tension that surrounds the traditional versus the modern (and the foreign versus the Korean) takes on things in defining Korean fine dining.

Their reviews are sometimes more generous than they should be (I just finished a job at a publishing house in Seoul that puts out another top food magazine — I know how hard they are pushed to market, market, market — it is somewhat inevitable), but overall, the magazine is a great way to see what’s up, not only in Seoul but also in the regional provinces.

No doubt the food market will be full of sponsoring vendors, but they’ve also got an open call posted for vendors to apply to, which means it may be a great way to find some new and interesting products. The advertisement promises lots of free samples and artisan sellers, as well as a special menu created by three top Korean chefs, an auction and a raffle.

The chefs’ menu is here: In the Spring, a sherry cocktail with Grey Goose vodka, cherry blossom infused simple syrup, lemon juice and peppermint sugar created by Mixology owner Kim Bong-ha; a terrine of pork, beef tongue and button mushroom duxelles by Kim Sung-mo, chef at Gourmet Tree; and a corn cake cupcake made to look like an ice cream cone by Lee Hyun-hee, chef-owner at DesserTree and Meringue Meringue.

The market will be held from 1-7pm. Only 50 each of the chefs’ menu items are available, first come first serve, and the auction and raffle are at 4pm.

Olive Magazine Korea Food Market
서울 성동구 성수이로88
88 Seongsuiro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

Saturday, April 23, 2016
1-7pm