A Nigerian influencer, Victor Mac-adonai, has won the third edition of the 2026 'Hansik' (Korean food) contest final round held in Abuja over the weekend, after beating seven other teams.
Korean Hansik contest, stagged by the Korean Cultural Centre Nigeria (KCCN), provides an opportunity for contestants to sharpen their skills in preparing the Korean dishes.
The contest, with the theme: 'The Soul of Hansik' focused on Jang-based Korean Food. It featured Korean foods tasting such as Jeyuk bokkeum (spicy pork stir-fry), Kongnamul Muchim (seasoned soybean sprouts), Kimchi Jjigae (Reddish Kimchi stew).
Others were Doenjang Jjigae (soybean paste stew), Maekjeo (Doenjang-marinated pork), among others.
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The event also featured Hansik exhibition, photobooth, K-pop, chopsticks challenge, raffle draw, games, among others.
Mac-adonai, who expressed excitement over his victory, said he was so passionate about the Korean culture, adding that the cooking competition was amazing, starting from the preparatory class.
He said his ultimate goal was to make history as the first male to win Hansik, saying women have come top in each of the past editions.
"I prepared Maekjeok which is a very ancient Korean recipe using Doenjang. I also made Doenjang-Jjigae, which is my main dish," he said.
Speaking at the Hansik Contest final round award, Ms Yinjin Lee, KCCN Event Planner/ Programme Officer, said the 2026 edition initially had 20 contestants before but the number was later reduced to eight in the final round.
"We focused more on the authenticity of Hansik. The theme was 'Soul of Hansik', which focuses on infusion that made creativity basic.
"This year, we decided to do the soul of Hansik by bringing the contestants to see how they can come up with the actual Hansik. This is to create awareness of Korean food due to lack of Korean food restaurants in Abuja," she said.
Mac-adonai went home with a 40 litre LG fridge. Ms Faith Oluwasegun came second, winning 42 litre LG microwave oven while Ms Favour Datiloe, who came third, took home a blender and air fryer.
