A culinary competition will take place this month featuring dishes made with insects.
 
The event will take place from November 27 to the 29 at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
 
For the competition, participants must use insects, such as grasshoppers and silkworm pupa, as an ingredient for their dishes.
 
A panel of judges will narrow down their selections to the top 15 and choose the top winners from that category. A combined four-point-eight million won will be given out in prize money to the various winners.
 
The Korea Food and Drug Administration allowed two types of larva temporary recognition as food ingredients for this year’s competition. It will hold deliberations to add crickets and Dynastid beetle larva by 2016. 
 
The Agriculture Ministry said the event will help visitors become familiar with using insects as ingredients through tasting and cooking programs. It noted that people’s apprehension to eating insects is the biggest hurdle to promoting the nutritional source.
 
The event comes as insects are becoming viewed more as an alternative food source for the future. 
 
Those who want to take part in the competition can submit the title, recipe and photo of their dish on the Web site www.agribioexpo.org by November 19.