We were not the first people to find out the shocking news that UNESCO, in 2011, decided NOT to recognize Korean Palace Cuisine as Cultural Heritage.
During the long 14 years, many others were also shocked… ANGERED, EVEN! AND THEN!!!
They did not care…
'What can WE do? We are just normal people.' They thought.
'Actual elites will take care of big problems like this.' They pushed away.
But the elites could not! The master craftsman cooks of Korea, research institutions, and even the government of Korea itself spoke to UNESCO! And they were not enough.
'Well then, even the elites could not save it, it's a hopeless cause. So who cares!'
We cared.
Each hand, small and ordinary, but we reached out from all over the world: Korea's neighbors, Korea's cousins, Korea's friends, from EVERY continent!
We learned and shared historical recipes that even Korea itself was losing in memory.
And we eventually gathered 33,000 signatures in 99 days, thereby matching the measurable scale which earned French Baguette the UNESCO Cultural Heritage status.
With the 33,000 signatures, we let UNESCO know that this CULTURAL HERITAGE is not dead! It is alive, in our homes, which makes it MORE alive than ever! More alive than during the era of Korean palace itself!!!
November 26, 2025, exactly 14 years since UNESCO's rejection of Korean Palace Cuisine, I am meeting with a member of the Korean government to deliver our collected signatures in person.
Our names, the photos of our homes and the dishes we cooked, will be remembered.
I started the petition, because I cared about Korean Palace Cuisine.
But I learned during our journey that what we were doing was much more.
We were proving a point, and in doing so, we were teaching the world and our children a very important lesson: that "it has to be us."
We have to take care of the things that belong to us. Others can't.
Others couldn't. We had to do it. So we did it.
I will never be able to repay you enough for helping me save what I cared about so deeply.
And I will forever try.
You helped me make the culture I care about live on.
So as I continue on with my journey to become a craftsman cook,
as I learn how to provide important nutrition for our bodies in joyful tastes,
I will always remember this, always share my learnings, and always think about how I can best help you and the people you care about live a good life!
So what do you say?
We achieved a great victory today, but let's not make it our last!
Let's let our story continue! 😁
P.S. To commemorate our great victory, I wrote code that creates exactly 33,000 stars that spiral together to form a galaxy. Each star is actually brought to existence with its own color, its own glistening, and its own movements. And each time this code runs, the nebulas, the drifting stars, and the shooting stars are brought to existence based on factors that rely on random chance, so the appearance will be different. When you open the page, it is a unique experience that exists just for you at that moment, and made possible with exactly 33,000 stars that we will forever remember together! 🥰
P.P.S. Rendering 33,000 stars can be demanding for a mobile phone processor and battery! Don't admire our beauty for too long without a charger! 😆
P.P.P.S. You can see our original petition at junwon.com/unesco-petition. If you have not yet signed the petition, feel free to join in! Since we have time until UNESCO convention during which Korea can present its case, I can deliver our updated list with additional signatures again!