Residents eat "samgyetang," or ginseng chicken soup, at Kyungnam College of Information & Technology in Busan, July 25. The students invited senior citizens living nearby to the school and offered free meals. Yonhap

The British government agreed to import Korean food products that feature locally farmed and cooked chickens as primary ingredients. This move is part of Korea's ongoing efforts to boost its food exports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Tuesday.

The accomplishment comes after the Korean government in May started shipping "samgyetang," or ginseng chicken soup, dumplings and frozen precooked chicken products to the European Union.

The agriculture ministry said that with the support of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, all preparations for exports to Britain have been finalized. Additionally, the agriculture ministry has provided chicken food producers in Korea with information about the British market, including regulations on chicken imports.

The ministry expects that exporting chicken to Britain will further enhance the global expansion of Korean food, given that Britain has the second-largest GDP in Europe, behind Germany, as of 2023. In 2022, Korean chicken food products were exported to 28 countries, including the United States and Canada, totaling over $20 million.

Chicken exports to Britain came after the Korean government signed a series of diplomatic agreements with the British government last year.

In November, President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit with then-British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, where they renewed a bilateral free trade agreement aimed at boosting trade between companies in both countries.

Through their respective embassies in Seoul and London, the Korean ministry also reviewed the conditions for exporting to Britain.

The Korean government began export negotiations with the British government in January. A month after, the EU agreed to import Korean cooked chicken products.

The British government in May informed Korea of the conditions and requirements for exports, according to officials.

Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung stated that Korea's gastrodiplomacy has never been more active on the global stage following the ministry's latest achievement.

"We'll promote Korean food to the world off- and online, discover buyers, sign supply deals with foreign companies and expand our logistics centers overseas to broaden the global presence of Korean food," Song said.

Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyoung said, "'Chimaek' is now a word in the Oxford English Dictionary, showing how much (British people) are interested in (Korean) food. At such a time, being able to export our chicken to the country carries significant meaning."

Korean food has been steadily solidifying its presence and increasing market shares in Europe in recent years.

Last month, the EU reaffirmed that Korean cooked chicken products remain eligible for exports to 27 member countries. In the same month, Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it had signed an agreement with Denmark's Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries to repeal a previous ban on domestic sales of Samyang's Buldak instant noodles. The Danish government had initially imposed the ban saying the noodles were too spicy for its citizens.