Food & Drink
Busan wraps up foreign language menu support project, appoints global PR ambassador
Haps Magazine Korea
July 9, 2025
(Image: City of Busan)
The city of Busan held a completion report and ambassador appointment ceremony on July 8 at City Hall to mark the successful conclusion of its digital foreign language menu support project for restaurants.
The event also highlighted strategies to improve the city’s global dining environment.
The city officially appointed influencer Dasha Taran as a public relations ambassador for its foreign language menu initiative.
With over 2.2 million subscribers on YouTube, Taran recently participated in promotional content for the “Busan Olleng” platform, which introduces local cuisine and restaurant menus to international visitors. Her content, including reactions to dishes like pork soup, grilled eel, and raw fish, aims to make Korean food more accessible to global audiences.
Busan’s project, described as the largest of its kind in the country, supported the creation of multilingual digital menus at over 2,100 local restaurants.
The menus were created using AI-based technology on the “Busan Olleng” platform, which allows restaurant owners to upload photos of their menus and receive AI-assisted translations. Languages supported include English, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian, and Arabic.
The platform also enables easy updates to reflect changing dishes and prices, and visitors can access menus through QR codes without downloading additional apps. Certified restaurants were given “foreigner-friendly” stickers and digital signage.
City officials emphasized the importance of making the local dining scene more accessible, both for tourists and residents.