Joining NANRO Next as a mentor, Master Park Kwang-Hee once ran large restaurant operations in Seoul and China before moving her life, in 1996, to a small mountain village in Mitan-myeon, Pyeongchang. There, she has since crafted more than 40 varieties of medicinal kimchi from the region's clean ingredients alone. In 2002, MBC's "Kimchi Master Contest" named her a Master for her godeulppaegi (Korean lettuce) kimchi. Committed to fully handmade production using 100% local produce — never factory-scale — she has helped lead the movement toward differentiated, premium kimchi. She is also the master that international outlets like Eater turn to when documenting the traditional methods of kimchi in its home country.
She holds that as K-cuisine reaches out into the world, its roots must be all the clearer. It is in that spirit that she joins NANRO Next as a mentor — to guide younger chefs through the original grammar of Korean food: terroir, fermentation, and time.
