Culture and Tourism

KCCN deepen Efforts To Impact More Nigerians Through Cooking

Published

3 years ago

September 22, 2023

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

Empowerment and training of human beings, no doubt, remain the backbone of any development in the world.

**Selected members of the Association of Professional Chefs in Nigeria (APCN at the KCCN, Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria during the Chuseok cooking class, On Tuesday in Abuja.**

This is the story of the Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria, KCCN, which over the years, increased efforts to ensure that many Nigerians are empowered through different endeavours in life.
The Centre has given thousands of Nigerians leverage in arts, culture, entertainment, language education, creativity, and sports, and recently added another sector, which is cooking class.

AljazirahNigeria reports that KCCN was established in 2010 in Nigeria’s Capital Territory, Abuja, to enhance friendship, bilateral relations, and understanding between Korea and Nigeria through cultural and educational programs, and today, the Centre is making thoughtful progress.

On Tuesday in the FCT, another batch of selected members of the Association of Professional Chefs in Nigeria, APCN, were on the ground to learn more about Korean cuisine, and how to prepare two of the country’s most popular dishes.

Indeed, it was another great experience for Nigerian chefs who chose cooking as their career, as they had more knowledge about continental dishes – the Korean food that is believed will go a long way to promote and advance them in the inter-continental dishes know-how.
Two of the first dishes they cooked were Spicy Braised Chicken and Com Cheese.

In his remarks, shortly after the demonstration of the Chuseok cooking class, the representative of the Director of KCCN, Manager of Cultural Content, Bae Sung Jin, said the essence of the cooking class is to sensitize many Nigerian people about Korean food and to give opportunity to some who want to choose Korean food.

“We are doing a lot of classes in Nigeria, not only cooking classes, but we also have K-POP Dance, Taekwondo, and language classes, among others.

“There is no Korean restaurant in Abuja, and Abuja is technically the capital of Africa, people want to try Korean food. That is what gave birth to this cooking class, to introduce our foods to the Nigerian people as well as empower them.

“We are trying to reach out to many Nigerians, which is why we choose members of the Association of Professional Chefs in Nigeria, and without a doubt, I do believe it will have an impact on their lives,” he said.

A staff of KCCN, Sharon Pwavi-Babale, said that it is the continuation of the effort of the Centre to expose Nigerians to Korean foods.

“The reason, if noticed, Asian food which is popular in Nigeria is Chinese food and KCCN saw it as an opportunity, being the fact that a large number of people watch Korean movies, many Nigerians see Korean food through movies and desire to eat it.

“So, we ensure the cooking class is put in place as a means of introducing Nigerians to Korean dishes’ method of cooking and its richness,” she said.

However, Chuseok translates to autumn eve and is, at its core, a harvest moon festival nodding back to Korea’s traditional agrarian roots where traditional foods make their way onto every family’s table, and the infamous bumper-to-bumper traffic that plagues the country’s major roads in the lead-up to the long holiday, as people make the pilgrimage back to their hometowns to honour familiar ancestors.

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Culture and Tourism

Awakan Marks First Anniversary as NTDA DG, Charts New Course for Tourism Sector

Published

1 week ago

September 24, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

As the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) enters its second year under the leadership of the Director-General, Mr. Ola Awakan, the focus will remain on building partnerships and converting Nigeria’s tourism assets into greater opportunities for investment and accelerated economic growth.

That simple message framed the one year scorecard presented on Wednesday by Mr. Awakan during NTDA Tourism Week 2026 and activities leading to World Tourism Day held in Abuja.

“Nigeria does not lack tourism assets,” Awakan said. “What is required is a system that connects these assets to investments, jobs, technology, enterprise and sustainable economic value.” He added.

Reeling out his scorecard, Awakan observed that over the past year, the Authority concentrated on stakeholder engagement, innovation, investment facilitation, digital transformation, destination marketing, tourism intelligence and institution building.

He explained that efforts have been made towards deeper collaboration with government institutions, traditional institutions, private-sector operators, development partners, financial institutions, professional bodies, communities and international partners.

On the digital front, the NTDA boss said the Authority has advanced NITOUREY, a dedicated tourism streaming platform and content ecosystem meant to take Nigerian destinations, culture and experiences to wider audiences, in alignment with this year’s World Tourism Day theme, “Digital agenda and artificial intelligence to redesign Tourism”.

He also identified Naija Flavour as a flagship project to position Nigerian cuisine as both a tourism asset and a tool for cultural diplomacy, linking tourism to Nollywood, music, fashion, food, festivals and digital creativity.

Speaking further, Awakan reiterated that the NTDA is also digitising tourism enterprise accreditation and regulatory processes while developing a grassroots tourism framework to identify, document and promote assets across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.

Internationally, NTDA has expanded ties with tourism institutions, diplomatic missions, development partners and global organisations on technical cooperation, investment, destination marketing, capacity building, cultural diplomacy and market access.

The NTDA helmsman however recognised that challenges remain such as infrastructure gaps, weak tourism data, limited connectivity to some destinations, security concerns in certain locations, regulatory compliance shortfalls and the need for stronger private-sector participation.

Awakan remained positive looking ahead with his priorities including the mobilisation of more tourism investment, accelerating the development of viable assets, expanding domestic and international marketing through deeper digital transformation, strengthening regulation, increasing community participation, building capacity of tourism professionals and deepening partnerships with international tourism institutions.

The DG also announced plans for the expanded Naija Flavour International Tourism Expo to be unveiled in Abuja later this year making it the ultimate platform aimed at drawing international participation, investors and development partners into the sector.

While thanking President Bola Tinubu GCFR for giving him the opportunity to serve, he added that, “One year in office is not the destination. It is a checkpoint,” reiterating that the next phase would require stronger partnerships, greater investment and sustained institutional commitment.

Earlier, the Director of Marketing and Promotion of NTDA Mr. Olufemi Akinyele, said the milestone was being marked as part of NTDA Tourism Week, which began with a road walk and a guided tour of Abuja under the theme “Digital Vibes, Nigerian Pride: Celebrating Tourism, Culture and People.”

Government and industry representatives at the event congratulated the Director General and commended the Authority’s increased engagement with tourism stakeholders.

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