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| Kim Hae-soon, 72, hands out "banchan," or side dishes, she made at Yummy Yummy's tasting event at Seodaemun Senior Club, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, November. / Courtesy of Seodaemun-gu Office |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Kimchi, stir-fried anchovies, salted bean sprouts… A proper household meal in Korea always involves several "banchan," or side dishes, to accompany a bland bowl of rice.
But maintaining a good selection of homemade banchan in the fridge is no easy task, especially for households that are bogged down with chores, childcare or work. Each banchan requires long and meticulous preparation with various produce and seasonings.
In October, Seodaemun Senior Club and Seodaemun District Office decided to address the ubiquitous demand for healthy and affordable homemade banchan with their latest job creation project for retired senior citizens in the area.
Retired residents with plenty of home cooking experience were brought in and given professional training at the Korea Cooking Art Academy in Seoul. On Monday, the all-women team launched the banchan delivery service named Yummy Yummy.
The food is prepared and delivered by employees from a kitchen in Seodaemun Community Welfare Center. Three groups of four cooks take turns working a four-hour shift every three to four days. Three other women take care of the delivery, currently limited to some of the larger apartment complexes in Seodaemun district.
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| Ready-to-deliver banchan made by Seodaemun's senior residents. / Courtesy of Seodaemun-gu office |
This week's menu includes stir-fried fish cakes, spicy pickles and braised burdock roots. Prices start at around 5,000 won ($4.5) for two banchan. All are made-to-order and orders are taken through Seodaemun Senior Club's Kakao Plus Friends account or by phone. The employees are paid around 8,000 to 10,000 won per hour.
"It's exciting ― better than staying home and fiddling with the TV remote," Kim Hae-soon, 72, a participating cook in the banchan delivery service, told The Korea Times, Tuesday. "We go by a professional recipe so the food tastes good without any artificial additives. I'm actually planning to order my own banchan from here."
Kim says the service is well-suited to the needs of her community.
"Young working mothers don't have time to make banchan," she said. "And the smaller households, it's not effective for them to buy all the ingredients and make banchan in bulk, because they will throw most of it away anyway."
Ahn Soon-bong, head of Seodaemun Senior Club, says the project will be expanded once it gains a loyal following.
"Our banchan is provided by senior community members who really think about family health," Ahn said. "We plan to initiate subscription-based services after we gain more customers."
There are other ongoing projects that match Seodaemun-gu's senior citizens with part-time jobs. Car-washing services, started in November and also booked through Seoul Seniors Club, now average around 20 requests a day.
The district office plans to create 400 new part-time jobs for senior citizens every year.
