The government is seeking to lift the global status of Korean food to make it one of the top five most popular foods in the world by 2017.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced its plan to globalize Korean food in a meeting on Monday.

It will draw up legislation to promote the food industry and seek other measures to commercialize Korean dishes.

Also, the ministry will nurture talented Korean chefs, designate special streets in the nation for premium Korean cuisine, and increase the number of Korean restaurants overseas five-fold before 2017.

On Tuesday, an international symposium on globalizing Korean food will open at the Seoul Lotte Hotel, in which industry experts from home and abroad will discuss strategies and tasks to promote Korean food.