Chicken dishes give wings to Chuncheon tourism, fuel local economy

CHUNCHEON, Gangwon Province — Famous for its stir-fried and grilled chicken dish, known in Korean as dakgalbi, Chuncheon has long drawn visitors from across the country to its local eateries. The city is now putting that culinary appeal at the center of the government’s fledgling initiative to revitalize domestic tourism by linking local food with popular tourist attractions. In June, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced "K-Chicken Belt," a vetted list of 552 restaurants and venues in 30 cities known for chicken dishes. As the city representing dakgalbi in the program, Chuncheon and KORAIL Tourism Development have jointly launched a tourism package featuring the city’s famed foods, traditional liquors, sightseeing destinations and local experience spots. The Korea Food Promotion Institute under the ministry is organizing the program. The package, available for a limited period in October through KORAIL's tourism package online sale platform, includes meals of dakgalbi, grilled barbecue chicken, makguksu (buckwheat noodles), fine-dining restaurants and a p