Hosted by the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation on Sunday, the "K-Food Cooking Class" was attended by 100 Iranians. The participants were selected among more than 350 applicants, the organizers said.
At the event Iranians learned how to make kimchi, a spicy, fermented cabbage dish, and kimbap, a seaweed-wrapped rice roll filled with a variety of ingredients, both of which have already been widely introduced to the Islamic republic through Korean TV dramas.
Many of the participants looked excited but confused at the same time as they struggled to make what seemed to be unique Asian foods. Some giggled as their kimbap and kimchi turned out to be quite different from what Korean instructors demonstrated.
The cooking event came as President Park Geun-hye embarked on her three-day visit to Iran, which has emerged as a crucial business partner since the scrapping of economic sanctions on Tehran in January under a deal to curb its nuclear program.
Park is the first South Korean president to visit Iran since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1962. She is accompanied by a large-scale delegation of some 230 South Korean business leaders, underscoring Korea's eagerness to bolster economic ties with Iran.
YNA/MNA