Gangneung's Chodang tofu trail named K-Food Road cultural tourism site, linked to Joseon literary siblings

The Chodang tofu trail in Gangneung, tied to the humanistic legacy of Joseon-era literary siblings Heo Nanseolheon and Heo Gyun, has been selected for the government's K-Food Road program.

Gangneung announced Monday it had been chosen through a competitive application for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2026 K-Food Road Cultural Tourism Promotion Project, and will develop a K-food cultural tourism hub along Chodang-dong.

The K-Food Road Cultural Tourism Promotion Project is a national competitive grant program the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is launching for the first time in 2026. It aims to cultivate stay-based tourism content by linking locally representative food with tourism resources and to stimulate regional economies.

Gangneung was selected in recognition of its differentiated project plan combining Chodang tofu as a clear culinary asset with the humanistic heritage of Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon. The total project budget over three years is 3 billion won ($1.94 million).

The city plans to develop differentiated culinary tourism content linking the Chodang soft tofu street with the humanistic heritage of Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon, building a stay-based tourism ecosystem where culture, tourism and local commerce thrive together.

Heo Nanseolheon was a Joseon-era poet whose work became known as far as China and Japan. Her brother Heo Gyun — five years her junior — was the novelist who wrote "Hong Gildong-jeon," dreaming of an ideal state. She is said to have consistently urged him to respect women.

Scholars have debated the identity of the fictional Yuldoguk in "Hong Gildong-jeon," with one theory holding that it was settled by the Goryeo Sambyeolcho warriors who fought off a Mongol invasion before vanishing, and that it corresponds to the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa), where the earliest fortifications built by Goryeo are said to remain. Japan is currently undertaking large-scale construction in Okinawa that critics say is erasing traces of Goryeo's presence there.

Under the slogan "Stay in Tofu, Fall for Culture," Gangneung plans to run year-round cultural programs along Chodang-dong — a tofu festival and busking events, a tofu tasting tour, tofu cooking classes and craft experiences, a youth pop-up store, and a QR stamp tour — transforming the street into a destination where visitors can eat, stay and enjoy themselves.

Eom Geum-mun, head of the city's tourism policy division, said the K-Food Road project would serve as a springboard to elevate the Chodang soft tofu street into a destination where food and culture come together. "We will push ahead with the project without a hitch so that opportunities for cultural enjoyment shared by residents and visitors alike can be expanded, along with the revitalization of the local economy," he said.