Mr. Alfredo Enrique Echeverría, CEO of the HRS (Hoteles, Restaurantes y Servicio) Consulting Group in Costa Rica will visit Korea from May 10 to May 16, 2010 by invitation of the Korea Foundation.
Mr. Echeverría studied hotel management and tourism at CETT in Spain and Cornell University in the United States, and worked for prominent hotel companies, such as Hilton, Westin, etc. With such expertise and experience, he founded the HRS Group, a consulting company for hotels and restaurants management, in 1992. Since then, the Group has managed more than 7,000 consulting projects and various education programs in Costa Rica and other foreign countries. As a notable gastronomic journalist, he also writes many articles on cuisine and restaurants for various journals and newspapers, such as ‘La Republica’, an economic daily newspaper in Costa Rica.
During his stay in Korea, Mr. Echeverría will visit the Korean Food Foundation and meet Prof. Han Young Sil, President of Sookmyung Women’s University, Dr. Yoon Sook Ja, Director of the Institute of Traditional Korean Food, and Mr. Edward Kwon, a famous chef, to share opinions on the history of Korean cuisine and its excellence. He will also have opportunities to promote his understanding of the environment and the culture related to Korean food by visiting the Korean Food Institute, Tteok (rice cake) museum and traditional markets, such as Garak Agricultural and Marine Products Wholesale Market, Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and Kyungdong Medicinal Herb Market.
In addition, he will visit the Korea Tourism Association and the International Food Industry Exhibition, Seoul 2010 to gain insights into the current situation of the Korean tourism and food industry. And he will deliver a lecture on ‘The Food History of the Region (Central America) and the multicultural influences over the years from Mexico, Africa and Europe’ at the Graduate School of International and Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He will also have opportunities to experience various other aspects of Korean culture by touring museums and historical sites in Seoul.
