Ewha Student Team Won the Ministerial Award at the 2023 Best Practice Competition of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant
- Date2024.02.22
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A team of Ewha students won the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award (Excellence Prize) at the 2023 Best Practice Competition of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant.
Professor Jieun Oh, who successfully led the startup incubation program, won the Recognition Award from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
A team of Ewha students, Seoul Dudeoji, won the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award (Excellence Prize) at the 2023 Best Practice Competition of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp (aT) on November 24th, Friday, 2023. Professor Jieun Oh at the College of Science & Industry Convergence, who is in charge of running the startup incubation program, also won the Recognition Award from the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on the same day.
The Youth Kiwoom Restaurant project for incubating youth startups is one of the notable support programs for startups provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Five branches of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant are operated under the program, and Ewha Womans University and its consortium of Seodaemun District Office and E-food Lab have been in charge of the Sinchon branch since 2019. Located in Sinchon Boxquare (Sinchonnyeok-ro 22-5, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul), the Sinchon branch of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant provides young prospective entrepreneurs operational consultancy (e.g., feedback on space, cooking, sales, and promotion) and personalized startup education programs to give young entrepreneurs opportunities to experience the general process of restaurant management before opening their own restaurants. Since the launching project in 2019, fifty teams have participated, and six of them have succeeded in opening their own restaurants, including Team Vege Bear (2019) and Team Peace of Pie (2021). Many other teams are on the way to accelerate their business.
Team Seoul Dudeoji and Professor Jieun Oh (Second from the left)
Team Seoul Dudeoji consists of Jeong-eun Kim (Biology), Soyoon Lee and Minjeong Jang (Nutritional Science & Food Management), Taerang Kim (Geography Education), Ju-eun Choi (Fashion Industry), and Dahyeon Kang (Design). The team has operated a restaurant selling vegan milk tea and fusion cuisines, such as pasta using gochujang red chili paste and namul greens like spinach and fernbrake from September. The sales of the restaurant were high, for the team actively promoted the restaurant by participating in the Ewha Festival and Boxquare Festival, presenting seasonal menus, hosting giveaway events, and increasing its social media engagement. The team’s effort for creative interpretation of traditional Korean cuisine was honored with the Excellence Prize in the competition.
Seoul Dudeoji restaurant at the Sinchon Branch of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant | Team Seoul Dudeoji giving a presentation at the fireside chat session of the 2023 Best Practice Competition of Youth Kiwoom Restaurant
“This project will lay a foundation for many young entrepreneurs to develop creative food service businesses and launch their own business by providing a range of startup education and experience of operating a business,” said Professor Oh, who leads the project.