▲ WELL-BEING FOOD EXPO.

During the period between August 30 and September 15, 2013, more than 700,000 people visited Cheonan, a small city in the northeast of Chungnam, which was rare for a city with a population of only 600,000. The reason was that the International Well-being Food Expo took place in the Cheonan Samgeori Park.

The international expo dedicated on wholesome foods held under the theme of ※Taste of Nature, Healthy Future§ was attended by more than 150 food businesses and organizations from 20 nations. Its significance also comes from the fact that it was the first international expo hosted by a lower-level local government of Korea.

Visitors enjoyed various exhibitions and programs such as wellness food exhibitions, cooking contests, Korean liquor shows, and Korean Buddhist temple cuisine and cheese making programs. Cooking lessons instructed by famous cooks also drew much attention. Exhibitions in the main hall, which delivered the message of coexistence and sharing, also received good reviews.

The expo laid the foundation to enhance people＊s awareness about wellness food and wellness lifestyle by introducing not only wellness foods but also wellness lifestyles of people around the world. A message from a kid hung on the ※Hope Tree§ in the fourth exhibition hall is resonating. ※To my friends in Africa. Please take care of yourselves until I grow up and come to help you.§

The success of the expo is attributed to its rich content and thorough preparation by the organizing committee over the past four years. Especially, the organizing committed focused on preparing programs or events that can appeal to people from every walk of life. While the main exhibitions dealt with subjects that everyone can enjoy together, hands-on experience programs were designed for different groups of people, for example, activities related to bugs, reptiles, beans or cheese for kids, cooking classes for mothers, wellness health booths for health-conscious adults and farming booths for the urban people who consider moving to rural villages.