The Jeonju Cultural Heritage Foundation (Representative Director Choi Rak-gi) will be operating a humanities program called "Humanities Blooming in the Bean Field," which combines lectures and cooking experiences on the theme of beans, the representative ingredient of Jeonju, on the 12th, 19th, and 20th at the Korean Traditional Culture Center and Hanbyeok Cultural Center.

Jeonju has been a region where food culture utilizing beans such as bean sprouts, soybean paste, and soy sauce has been developed since ancient times, particularly diversely utilizing the sermoktae (black-eyed pea). This program was planned to shed light on Jeonju's food culture from a humanities perspective, share the value of native beans with citizens, and discuss the importance of food self-sufficiency and sustainable eating habits together.

The program consists of a lecture-style humanities special lecture and an experiential humanities cooking experience, each held twice.

First, the "Humanities Special Lecture" will be held on the 12th and 19th at 7 p.m. in the seminar room of the Korean Traditional Culture Center. Ham Jeong-hee, the representative of "Ham's Native Bean Foods," will give a lecture on topics such as "What is the black-eyed pea to humanity?" and "The necessity of food self-sufficiency and the role of citizens."

The following "Humanities Cooking Experience" will be held on the 20th at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the cooking experience room of the Hanbyeok Cultural Center. Kim Chae-yoon, the promotion director of the Jeonju Bean Sprout Farming Cooperative, will demonstrate making bean sprout stir-fry and bean sprout pancakes and lead participants in hands-on cooking activities. The participation fee is 10,000 won per person.

This program is expected to be an opportunity to reflect on the value of native beans like sermoktae (black-eyed pea) and Jeonju's top 10 ingredient, bean sprouts, and to share the excellence of Jeonju's ingredients with citizens. It is also anticipated to create empathy for the utilization of native beans and the importance of food self-sufficiency, positively impacting the promotion of local agricultural product consumption and support for farming households.

Choi Rak-gi, the representative director of the Jeonju Cultural Heritage Foundation, stated, "Beans are deeply rooted ingredients in our traditional Korean cuisine and are gaining attention as future food," adding, "I hope this program will be a meaningful time to look at and experience Jeonju's food culture from a humanities perspective."