The Korean Cultural Centre UK held an in-person talk on 11th January 2024 with chef Kwak Mikyung from the Pungseok Foundation and Professor Jieun Kiaer from the University of Oxford about two 18th-century scholar chefs.

During the talk, we discussed the lives of two scholar chefs from the Joseon era, Seo Yu-gu (1764-1845) and Bingheogak (1759-1824), the latter being the sister-in-law of Seo. Seo Yu-gu is the author of The Encyclopaedia of Rural Life, which describes his knowledge and experiences of rural life, consisting of approximately 28,000 items, 113 volumes, and 54 books. Bingheogak wrote Gyuhapchongseo which is a collection of the wisdom of daily life including recipes, making clothes, agriculture and more.

This event explored their culinary philosophies and explore some of their recipes. The audience had a chance to taste some traditional Korean desserts, gangjeong and tteok, recreated from those historic recipes.