In this blog post, I’ll summarize how I balanced my studies and extracurricular activities during high school while pursuing my interest in food and culinary arts and dreaming of becoming a Korean cuisine researcher.

Writing about my academic experiences and reflections

Driven by my interest in food and nutrition, I enrolled in a culinary science high school and approached my studies with the goal of becoming a Korean cuisine expert. My decision to attend this school stemmed from my desire to find an environment where I could professionally study whatever I wanted to learn to my heart’s content. In fact, during high school, I received tremendous academic support thanks to well-equipped labs, peers who shared my interests, and classes taught by expert instructors.
Among the specialized courses, the ones I participated in with particular enthusiasm were Korean Cuisine, Traditional Cuisine, and Regional Cuisine Practicum. Although classes on Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine were also interesting, I felt it was more important to fully understand the flavors and nutritional value of our own cuisine. I approached my studies with a passion to promote the diverse flavors and nutritional value of Korean cuisine, and as a result, I earned high grades in Korean cuisine-related courses and was frequently recognized for my creative culinary creations during practical training.
On the other hand, because I was so focused on specialized courses, there were times when I neglected more general subjects such as Food Management, Restaurant Entrepreneurship, and Food Science. During a career counseling session with my homeroom teacher, I was advised that these subjects were also important if I wanted to major in Food and Nutrition in college. That advice changed my perspective, and I came to realize that knowledge of business and entrepreneurship would be necessary for my future career.
After that, I focused more on my Food Management and Entrepreneurship classes and began studying the fundamentals of nutrition on my own. Guided by the belief that an understanding of food and culinary science is essential for creating authentic, health-conscious meals, I approached my studies with renewed dedication. As a result, my grades improved, and I naturally began to pursue my dream of majoring in Food and Nutrition with even greater enthusiasm.

Major Campus Activities and Reflections

For my campus activities, I joined the Food Styling Club. In the club, we would style food each week based on a set theme and special ingredients under the guidance of our advisor, then repeat the process of receiving feedback and corrections in the next session to refine our work. Since my regular classes focused mainly on culinary practice and culinary science, food styling—which emphasizes visual presentation—was a new and exciting challenge.
The club fostered an atmosphere where members learned by comparing each other’s work, naturally blending competition and collaboration. As food styling has recently grown in popularity, the club’s membership has expanded, allowing me to experience a wider variety of creative expressions. In particular, the most memorable assignments were canapé styling and rice styling.
While learning canapé styling, I realized that food styling isn’t simply about arranging food on a plate—it’s a process that requires considering many factors, such as ingredient selection, shape, sauces, and the harmony of the dishware. The process of deciding which type of bread to choose, how to arrange the tomatoes, what sauce to use, and how to arrange the elements on the plate demanded both time and intense concentration.
Styling begins with preparing the ingredients before the photo shoot. I approached the task with great care, starting with selecting fresh ingredients that wouldn’t spoil quickly and cutting quail eggs and fruits into bite-sized pieces. When arranging the food, a “sense of visual appeal” was crucial, and I gradually improved my design and color sense through feedback.
About four months after joining the club, we had an assessment where we had to complete the entire process on our own without any given guidelines. The theme was rice styling, and since I had always dreamed of becoming a Korean cuisine researcher, I took on the challenge with confidence. I aimed for a clean yet appetizing style using rice, pork belly, garlic, and chives.
I shaped the rice into sushi-like portions, topped them with slices of pork belly and roasted garlic, and wrapped them in chives to complete the presentation. Finally, since the choice of plate and sauce would determine the visual impact, I selected a long, horizontal plate to create a Japanese-style presentation and used gochujang as the sauce to contrast with the green of the chives. As a result, my instructor praised it as the best piece presented in class, and I felt immense joy when she took a photo and showed it to the other club members as an example.

Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections

During my senior year of high school, our school hosted a culinary career experience program for eighth-grade students. I participated as a mentor in the Korean cuisine field, guiding prospective juniors on high school life, club activities, career paths, and employment, and assisting with hands-on training. This event was organized to help middle school students experience various cooking-related programs.
The event ran from morning through afternoon, with the morning session consisting of safety training and general orientation. We high school students, serving as assistants, were responsible for preparations and guidance—distributing writing utensils and spare clothes to the middle schoolers and explaining safety rules for the hands-on activities. Seeing about 70 middle schoolers listening intently with sparkling eyes made me feel a sense of responsibility as a senior to teach them as much as possible.
During the Korean cuisine experience, we conducted hands-on activities focused on styling traditional Korean sweets (hangwa), rice cakes (tteok), and traditional beverages. I had expected students to flock to the currently popular Japanese or Western cuisine programs, but surprisingly, many were eager to make and style the beautiful hangwa and tteok themselves. I assisted with the hands-on activities by explaining in detail how to select wooden bowls that complement traditional table settings, how to stack rice cakes attractively, and the types and characteristics of traditional beverages.
I also helped the students take photos of their creations so they could take them home as mementos. In the afternoon, I conducted a special lecture on the professional world of chefs and provided career counseling and mentoring for interested students. It was a very rewarding experience to share my knowledge and experience by discussing what I know about Korean cuisine research and offering advice on further education. Through this experience, I realized that the collaborative system between specialized high schools and middle schools has a positive impact on students, and my sense of pride in my school grew even stronger.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation and Career Plans

My decision to pursue a career as a Korean cuisine researcher stems from my experiences in high school, where I deeply explored the flavors and nutritional value of Korean cuisine through my studies and extracurricular activities. Through specialized courses, the food styling club, and mentoring activities, I learned how to better understand and present Korean cuisine, which led me to decide to major in Food and Nutrition.
The advice I received from my homeroom teacher during my career preparation was a major turning point. I realized that simply mastering culinary techniques wasn’t enough; I needed to study a broad range of foundational knowledge—including food management, restaurant entrepreneurship, food science, and nutrition—to expand my future career options and better support actual entrepreneurship or research activities. Therefore, I consciously supplemented my studies with courses in business and entrepreneurship, as well as nutrition.
Through club activities, I developed the ability to consider the visual presentation of food and consumer reactions, and through mentoring, I gained experience in sharing information and communicating with younger students. All of these activities helped me cultivate the practical skills and people-oriented mindset necessary for developing Korean cuisine products to launch a business or for pursuing a career as a researcher.
Moving forward, I plan to study food and nutrition more systematically at the university level and, through experimental and research experience, acquire the ability to design Korean cuisine that balances flavor and nutrition. Furthermore, building on my foundational knowledge of food management and entrepreneurship, my goal is to grow into a researcher and entrepreneur who promotes Korean food culture and products both domestically and internationally.