VANK announced that it has launched the “Bapsim Comes from Ssal” campaign, in partnership with the Korea Culture Foundation and Sports Donga, as part of efforts to broaden the reach of the global project “2025 PLAY K-FOOD World Cup.”
The initiative comes amid the growing global popularity of Korean cuisine, fueled recently by the series K-pop Demon Hunters. Dishes such as gimbap, ramen, and gukbap featured in the drama have attracted wide attention from international fans, spotlighting rice as a healthy and versatile ingredient. However, domestic rice consumption in Korea has continued to decline each year, with demand shifting toward alternatives such as bread, noodles, and meat.
To counter this trend, VANK said it produced Korean- and English-language posters as part of the campaign, aiming both to encourage greater rice consumption at home and to highlight the importance of rice as a core ingredient in Korean cuisine abroad.
VANK has previously promoted Korean food culture through a variety of initiatives, including the “Remembering the Korean War through Hansik” campaign, the “K-SAUCE Balance Game,” and the “My Own Malbok K-Health Food” online campaign.
The latest campaign, launched in the fall “season of harvest,” was designed to reaffirm the value of rice in modern food culture, where flour-based meals have become increasingly popular. VANK emphasized that its goal is to spread awareness of rice as a nutritious and essential part of Korean cuisine.
A distinctive feature of the campaign is its use of both Korean and English posters to deliver tailored messages to different audiences. The Korean version carries the slogan, “황금 들판이 물드는 가을, 이번 가을에는 밀가루 음식보다 쌀 어떤가요? (This autumn, as the fields turn golden, why not enjoy rice instead of flour-based dishes?),” directly encouraging rice consumption. The English version reads, “Try Ssal, Korean rice, this autumn and feel the power of Bapsim!” highlighting both the symbolic meaning of rice in Korean food and the cultural concept of “bapsim,” or the strength that comes from eating rice.
The posters are available on VANK’s official Instagram account (@vank_prkorea) and can be easily downloaded from the global photo-sharing platform Flickr.
“Rice is the foundation of Korean meals and has shaped our food culture throughout history,” said Park Ki-tae, head of VANK. “With Korean food now gaining international attention through diverse K-content, it is essential to promote rice, the heart of Korean cuisine. True branding of Korean food means continuing to raise awareness not only of hansik but also of Korean rice itself.”
Lee Jung-woo, a youth researcher who led the campaign, added: “We planned this initiative to highlight the symbolism of rice in Korean cuisine during the harvest season and to encourage greater rice consumption. By producing separate Korean and English posters, we aimed to deliver the right message to both domestic and international audiences. Through social media, we will continue to share the appeal of rice with global fans of Korean culture and further expand the influence of hansik.”
Meanwhile, the “2025 PLAY K-FOOD World Cup,” designed to expand global interest in K-food through interactive participation, will run until December as an open food-content challenge. Promotional videos featuring celebrities are being shared through VANK’s official channels on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as on StyleD Magazine’s Instagram account. Among the participants so far are girl group Fifty Fifty, actress Park Bo-young, girl group Kep1er, and actress Jeon Yeo-been.