Joseon’s royal cuisine was designated Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 38 in 1971. The first practitioner to carry on the tradition was the late Han Hee-sun, who served in the royal kitchen under King Gojong and King Sunjong at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. The next person to inherit the title was the late Hwang Hye-sung, Han Bok-ryeo’s mother. Now Korea’s highest authority on royal cuisine, Han is fulfilling the responsibility and duty of the keeper of royal cooking tradition.



Han learned about Joseon royal cuisine from her mother, who taught her in the strictest way possible. The more Han studied about Korea’s culinary tradition, the more she became amazed by the philosophy embodied in it.

Han celebrated her 70th birthday last May. These days Han is studying ancient records and preparing for the publication of an expansive encyclopedia on Korean traditional cuisine. Her efforts are made more difficult for a lack of ancient documents, but her sense of duty will keep her going and keep the tradition of royal cuisine alive for generations.