ABSTRACT
The Republic of Korea’s 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education (2025–2029) aims to strengthen national efforts to promote balanced, sustainable, and practical dietary practices across all age groups. Established every five years under the Support for Diet Education Act and led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Plan integrates educational content related to agriculture, rural communities, food, and the environment. This Plan builds on the achievements and lessons of the previous three plans, addressing ongoing challenges such as demographic shifts, rising food insecurity, and environmental concerns. It outlines a clear vision and core values—Environment, Health, and Consideration—and sets concrete targets to expand dietary education in schools, communities, and local food systems. Key strategies include developing lifelong education systems, reinforcing experiential and eco-friendly practices, activating local-level education networks, enhancing digital platforms, training professional educators, and reinforcing governance and legal frameworks. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the 4th Basic Plan’s objectives, implementation strategies, and expected contributions to sustainable national dietary practices.
Keywords: Dietary Education, Sustainable Food System, Agriculture, Environment, National Basic Plan
INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Korea has established and announced the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education, covering the period from 2025 to 2029. The Basic Plan for Dietary Education is a national-level plan formulated every five years by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under the Support for Diet Education Act. As the Plan encompasses educational content related to agriculture, rural communities, food, and the environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs serves as the competent authority for this Act in Korea. This paper examines the detailed contents of Korea’s 4th (2025–2029) Basic Plan for Dietary Education.
Background for the Implementation of the 4th (2025~2029) Basic Plan for Dietary Education
The Republic of Korea establishes a Basic Plan every five years under the SUPPORT FOR DIET EDUCATION ACT (enacted in 2009) to improve the nutrition and health of its people and to enhance their quality of life through balanced dietary practices. The 1st Basic Plan for Dietary Education was implemented from 2010 to 2014, the 2nd from 2015 to 2019, and the 3rd from 2020 to 2024. The Basic Plan for Dietary Education stipulates the goals and directions for dietary education, specific measures for dietary education at home, schools, and in communities, and measures to promote exchanges between agricultural and fisheries producers and consumers.
The Republic of Korea places significant importance on dietary education as a means to encourage people to practice healthy eating habits voluntarily and to help shape sound dietary practices, thereby improving national nutritional habits. By formulating and implementing the Basic Plan for Dietary Education, Korea aims to enhance food accessibility for socially vulnerable groups such as the elderly and low-income households, resolve nutritional imbalances, and positively influence the formation of values among future generations, including infants and students. Moreover, an important background for establishing and implementing the Basic Plan for Dietary Education is to raise public awareness of the public value of agriculture and rural communities and to draw attention to sustainable values such as environmental protection throughout the entire food system*.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has so far established three Basic Plans for Dietary Education (1st to 3rd) and developed an implementation system and infrastructure for dietary education. In addition, the concept of dietary education has been expanded from healthy eating to sustainable eating, and education has been promoted based on this broader concept. In other words, dietary education has been pursued not only to improve health and nutrition but also to contribute to environmental and social sustainability. However, despite various policy efforts, there have been limitations in translating dietary education into actual improvements in dietary habits due to internal and external changes such as the increase in single-person households, the outbreak of COVID-19, and instability in the global agri-food supply chain. For example, the implementation rate of the Dietary Guidelines for Koreans decreased from 64.1% in 2020 to 57.5% in 2024, and the proportion of people having regular meals remained almost unchanged, from 35.0% in 2020 to 34.8% in 2024, illustrating such limitations.
In formulating the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs focused on strengthening the substance of dietary education and reorganizing the support system for dietary education by thoroughly reviewing and evaluating the progress and implementation of the past three Basic Plans and comprehensively considering internal and external changes.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE PREVIOUS BASIC PLANS
Looking first at the achievements of the previous Basic Plans (1st to 3rd), it is recognized that they played an important role in expanding the foundation for dietary education aimed at “people-centered, customized education,” especially for future generations, and in spreading awareness of the public value of agriculture and the environment.
First, the previous plans promoted customized education. Dietary education programs were expanded, focusing on daycare centers, kindergartens, and schools, and were linked to food assistance projects targeting vulnerable groups. From 2020 to 2024, dietary education for students reached a total of 621,222 participants. In addition, dietary education linked with the Agri-Food Voucher Support Project, which provides food assistance to vulnerable groups, reached 21,505 people from 2020 to 2024.
Second, the previous plans also promoted dietary education related to agriculture and the environment. Specifically, they encouraged dietary education combined with activities such as urban farming, production site experiences, and environmental education, thereby raising public awareness of diets that consider agriculture and the environment. One key outcome was the increase in the proportion of people who regard the role of producers as important when consuming food — from 86.9% in 2020 to 92.5% in 2024.
Third, the previous plans consistently expanded the educational infrastructure for dietary education. Infrastructure was developed to utilize local agricultural product supply-consumption systems, customized educational content for each target group was created, and an online education platform was established. For example, the achievement of building infrastructure that utilizes local agricultural product supply-consumption systems includes support for projects establishing complex local food stores that integrate food culture spaces such as restaurants, cafes, and shared kitchens.
While these three Basic Plans brought many accomplishments, several limitations were also identified. Due to changes in internal and external conditions, progress in improving public health, nutrition, and dietary habits has been limited.
First, changes in the population structure, such as the increase in single-person households, have led to higher rates of dining out and skipping breakfast, resulting in insufficient nutrient intake for many people and worsening nutritional imbalances, including a rise in lifestyle-related diseases. Indicators reflecting these limitations include:
- Average monthly household spending on dining out increased significantly from US$200.3 in 2015 to US$354.0 in 2023.
- The breakfast skipping rate rose sharply from 24.9% in 2015 to 29.8% in 2022.
- The proportion of people with insufficient nutrient intake increased from 8.5% in 2015 to 17.0% in 2021.
- The obesity prevalence rate rose from 34.1% in 2015 to 37.2% in 2022.
Second, due to global factors such as the Russia–Ukraine war, the war in the Middle East, and the intensification of abnormal weather patterns, instability in food prices has worsened. This has placed an even greater burden on vulnerable groups, which have not been adequately addressed. The Engel’s coefficient increased from 13.5% in 2019 to 14.3% in 2024, and the food security rate among economically vulnerable groups was only 66.9%, significantly lower than the 97.8% rate for other groups.
Third, the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting social distancing measures caused disruptions in the operation of dietary education programs, revealing that face-to-face, in-person education systems often lack effectiveness under such conditions.
Fourth, although the volume of food waste has been on a downward trend, about 70% of total food waste still comes from households and small restaurants. From an environmental perspective, there is a clear need to improve public awareness further, but past dietary education efforts have faced limitations in driving such improvements.
DIRECTION FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 4TH BASIC PLAN FOR DIETARY EDUCATION
Basic Direction
Target groups
The target groups for the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education cover “all age groups,” spanning from schools to the broader society. In other words, the 4th Basic Plan aims to promote dietary education for people of all ages.
First, within schools, the plan seeks to move beyond one-time programs offered only during “after-school hours” and instead strengthen “school-based dietary education” by linking it with existing educational initiatives such as Neulbom Schools (after-school care programs), discretionary school hours, and the Free Semester System.
Next, at the community level, the plan recognizes that despite the development of content in the past, actual implementation has been insufficient. Thus, the 4th Basic Plan will focus on activating life-cycle and target-specific community dietary education to address changes such as an aging population and the increase in single-person households. To close gaps in health and nutrition, dietary education and nutritional support for vulnerable groups will also be strengthened.
Educational content
The educational content of the 4th Basic Plan will focus on enhancing practical dietary practice through “hands-on and connected education,” moving away from the fragmented approach of the past. Previously, programs such as agricultural experiences, rural field trips, nutrition education, and environmental education were provided separately. Under the new plan, however, comprehensive programs will be offered that cover the entire food supply chain — from production and consumption to disposal.
In particular, the 4th Basic Plan aims to:
- Encourage balanced diets as part of daily life, and
- Strengthen the link between cooking and environmental education with dietary education to promote eco-friendly values in practice.
In terms of teaching methods, the previous focus was mainly on one-off experiential activities. The 4th Basic Plan will instead promote multiple-sessions, experience-oriented education to deepen engagement.
Educational methods
Key methods for delivering dietary education under the 4th Basic Plan will include promoting education at the local level and actively utilizing online platforms, thereby diversifying how education is provided.
First, for local-level education, the central government (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) will develop standard educational programs and provide them to local governments. Local governments will establish local public-private consultative bodies to identify regional education demands, compile databases of local educational resources, including spaces and personnel, and match these resources with local education needs to deliver effective programs.
Second, to improve the educational infrastructure, the plan will address the previously low use of online platforms for sharing educational materials. It will integrate dietary education-related information scattered across the public and private sectors, provide it in a centralized way, and strengthen two-way communication among stakeholders involved in dietary education.
Vision and Goals
As shown in Table 1, the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education presents a clear vision, core values, specific goals, and implementation tasks that align with the national commitment to sustainable dietary practices.
Value and vision
The Basic Plan is founded on the core values of Environment, Health, and Consideration, underscoring the importance of sustainability, public health, and shared responsibility. Its overarching vision is “A society where everyone practices sustainable dietary habits together,” aiming to cultivate a culture of healthy and eco-friendly eating across all generations.
Goals
To realize this vision, two main goals have been set.
First, the plan seeks to strengthen support for school education and expand opportunities for community education, with the target of increasing the rate of sustainable dietary practices among adults from 47.8% in 2024 to 65.0% by 2029, and among adolescents from 32.1% to 60.0% during the same period.
Second, the plan aims to establish a dietary education system linked to local food systems, targeting an increase in the local agricultural product consumption rate from 56.4% in 2024 to 70.0% by 2029.
Implementation Tasks
To achieve these goals, four key areas of implementation have been outlined:
- Establish a lifelong dietary education system:
- Expand school-based dietary education through collaboration among ministries.
- Activate customized community education tailored to different life stages and groups.
- Provide dietary education integrated with food assistance for vulnerable populations.
- Strengthen practical competence through experiential education:
- Develop and expand programs that combine nutrition and cooking education with farming and rural experiences.
- Strengthen agricultural and environmental value education to promote eco-friendly eating habits.
- Provide education to help traditional dietary culture take root in daily life.
- Activate local-level dietary education:
- Strengthen the consumption base using locally sourced food.
- Build systems to identify and respond to local educational needs.
- Develop the necessary foundation to revitalize community-level dietary education.
- Strengthen the foundation for educational effectiveness:
- Establish digital education infrastructure to enhance accessibility.
- Develop a system for training and fostering professional dietary educators.
- Expand nationwide awareness campaigns to encourage the widespread practice of sustainable dietary habits.
Implementation System
To support these tasks, the plan emphasizes the importance of expanding cooperation among diverse stakeholders, securing legal grounds, and advancing the performance evaluation system for continuous improvement.
Table 1. Vision and goals of the 4th basic plan for dietary education
|
Category
|
Details
|
|
Value
|
Environment · Health · Consideration
|
|
Vision
|
A society where everyone practices sustainable dietary habits together
|
|
Goals
|
◆ Strengthen support for school education and expand community education opportunities
- Sustainable dietary practice rate (%): (2024) Adults 47.8, Adolescents 32.1 → (2029) Adults 65.0, Adolescents 60.0
◆ Establish a dietary education system linked to local food systems
- Local agricultural product consumption rate (%): (2024) 56.4 → (2029) 70.0
|
|
Implementation
tasks
|
① Establish a Lifelong Dietary Education System
1) Expand school dietary education through inter-ministerial cooperation
2) Activate customized community dietary education by life stage and target group
3) Provide dietary education linked with food assistance for vulnerable
groups
② Strengthen Practical Competence through Experiential Education
1) Expand programs linking nutrition and cooking education with farming and rural experiences
2) Strengthen agricultural and environmental value education to promote eco-
friendly practices
3) Provide education to spread traditional dietary habits in daily life
③ Activate Local-Level Dietary Education
1) Education to strengthen the consumption base using local food resources
2) Establish systems to identify and support local education demand
3) Develop the foundation for revitalizing local dietary education
④ Strengthen the Foundation for Educational Effectiveness
1) Establish a digital education infrastructure to improve accessibility
2) Secure a system for training professional dietary education personnel
3) Expand nationwide promotion to spread sustainable dietary practices
|
|
Implementation
system
|
Expand cooperation among diverse stakeholders, secure legal grounds, and advance performance evaluation
|
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2025.
DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION TASKS OF THE 4TH BASIC PLAN FOR DIETARY EDUCATION
Establishment of a Lifelong Dietary Education System
School education
The Plan will expand experience-based dietary education through inter-ministerial cooperation. For young children, various activities will be supported, including urban farming and agricultural sensory experiences (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs), seafood experience classes (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries), and healthy eating exploration programs (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety).
For children and adolescents, customized education will be offered by linking it with school curricula according to age group. For example, Neulbom Schools’ dietary education programs will be expanded by grade (from 50 classes in 2025 to over 150 classes annually from 2026 onward) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Experiential education, such as nutrition education and cooking classes, will also be supported during discretionary hours and Free Semester periods in elementary and middle schools.
Community education
The Plan will expand education using customized content for different life stages and target groups, such as young adults (single-person households), pregnant women, multicultural families, and middle-aged and older adults. Various forms of education will be provided, including community-based group education through relevant institutions, outreach group training for soldiers and office workers, remote and online programs, and home-visit education for the elderly.
Support for vulnerable groups
The Agri-Food Voucher Project will be continuously expanded, and dietary education for encouraging healthy eating habits among vulnerable groups will be extended nationwide from 2025. The target is to expand from 87,000 households in 2025 (US$55.2 million) to include all 1.27 million households receiving livelihood benefits gradually.
Strengthening Practical Competence through Experiential Education
Agriculture and rural areas
The Plan will expand experience-based dietary education spaces utilizing agricultural and rural resources and support multiple-session programs covering experiences, nutrition, and cooking education. High-quality rural dietary education sites will be expanded to vitalize such experiential programs (from 354 sites in 2024 to 400 by 2029). Standard guidelines for curricula integrating life-cycle, experience, nutrition, and cooking education will be distributed, and consulting support will be provided to enhance the quality of ongoing programs.
Environment
Education to promote eco-friendly dietary practices among consumers of agri-food products will be strengthened. Educational programs in the form of campaigns will be developed to spread environmentally friendly eating practices and will be implemented at various sites, including schools and local children’s centers. The Plan will also promote good practices for eco-friendly agri-food consumption and food waste reduction through media and social networks, and identify and share exemplary cases within the food industry and among consumers.
Activation of Local-Level Dietary Education
Local food
Education will be expanded to raise awareness of the value of local food and to boost consumption. Dietary education will be linked to visits to local specialty production sites and harvest experiences. Nutrition and cooking education related to local food will be provided mainly at public meal service sites such as daycare centers, schools, public institutions, and welfare facilities.
Establishing local implementation systems
Public-private consultative bodies involving local stakeholders—including local governments, education offices, schools, private organizations, instructors, experience site managers, public institutions, and NGOs—will be formed to identify local education needs and develop content suited to local contexts. In schools, learning communities led by teachers will identify educational needs and support the development and operation of customized programs. In communities, partnerships with local health, welfare, healthcare, and education organizations will help discover educational needs and link them with appropriate programs, instructors, and venues.
Enhancing local education foundations
Plans and systems will be established to promote local dietary education, and current local education infrastructure will be organized into databases to facilitate matching with educational needs. Local Food Plans will include content on promoting dietary education using local produce. Regional databases of dietary education instructors and spaces will be developed and made available through an online platform to enable two-way matching with local demand.
Enhancing the Foundation for Educational Effectiveness
Online platform
The Plan will strengthen the digital education infrastructure by enhancing the existing platform (Dietary Education Classroom), which previously provided only basic information, to serve as an integrated information and communication hub. Dietary education information scattered across related institutions will be integrated and made accessible, covering food consumption trends, nutrition information and recipes for local produce, regional education programs, and information on experience sites. The platform will support interactive communication among policy managers, experts, and learners, enabling local demand-resource matching, online learning and training, academic exchanges, and feedback from the field.
Training of professional personnel
A new Professional Certification Program for dietary educators will be introduced and operated from 2025 to improve expertise and systematic management of instructors. The number of certified professionals will grow from 150 in 2025 to 800 by 2029. Required courses (totaling 120 hours) will cover eight core competencies, including understanding dietary education, sustainable diets, the value of agriculture and rural communities, food and culinary culture, taste education, food selection and cooking, healthy eating habits, and program development. Refresher training every two years will help maintain competencies. The program will be operated mainly by designated dietary education institutions (68 institutions as of 2024).
Reorganization of the Implementation System
To strengthen collaboration among diverse stakeholders, a new Dietary Education Council (tentative name) will be formed, involving relevant ministries, local governments, schools and other educational institutions, private organizations, and academia. The Council will discuss inter-ministerial and public-private cooperative projects, identify educational needs from the field, evaluate performance, provide policy advice, share domestic and international best practices, and facilitate networking among practitioners.
To ensure systematic management of dietary education experience sites and institutions, the SUPPORT FOR DIET EDUCATION ACT will be amended. Currently, there are no detailed legal provisions for managing experience sites and institutions. The amendment will establish legal grounds for designating, renewing, and managing the validity of such facilities.
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This paper reviews the Republic of Korea’s 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education (2025–2029), a national policy framework established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under the Support for Diet Education Act. The Plan aims to strengthen the foundations of lifelong dietary education by expanding its scope from promoting healthy eating to fostering sustainable food systems. It builds on the achievements and lessons learned from the previous three plans while addressing ongoing challenges such as demographic shifts, changing food environments, rising health disparities, and environmental sustainability. The Plan sets out clear goals, detailed implementation tasks, and specific performance targets covering school-based programs, community education, support for vulnerable groups, local food system linkages, experiential and environmental education, professional capacity building, and governance improvements.
The 4th Basic Plan demonstrates Korea’s commitment to enhancing national dietary practices in line with broader goals of public health and environmental sustainability. By expanding inter-ministerial collaboration, strengthening local education delivery systems, and improving digital and professional training infrastructure, the Plan seeks to ensure that dietary education becomes more accessible, practical, and impactful for all age groups. Despite previous limitations—such as low compliance with dietary guidelines and limited reach among vulnerable populations—the new Plan introduces more comprehensive, experience-based, and community-linked approaches that aim to bridge the gap between policy design and real-life behavioral change.
The findings suggest that Korea’s approach could serve as a valuable policy reference for other countries seeking to integrate healthy eating education with sustainable food systems and environmental awareness. By emphasizing lifelong, community-based, and digital dietary education, the Plan aims to reduce nutritional inequalities, strengthen local food economies, and promote climate-friendly food consumption patterns. For policymakers and practitioners, the 4th Basic Plan highlights the importance of connecting agriculture, environment, and public health goals within a unified dietary education framework supported by robust governance, legislation, and professional training.
In particular, the Plan provides timely policy implications for countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where rapid urbanization, demographic shifts, and changing food environments pose similar challenges to healthy and sustainable diets. Korea’s experience shows that comprehensive, multi-level dietary education—linked to local food systems, experiential learning, and digital platforms—can be an effective strategy for addressing nutritional disparities, supporting rural communities, and encouraging eco-friendly food choices. Regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing based on Korea’s case could help neighboring countries develop their context-specific dietary education systems that balance health, sustainability, and community engagement.
REFERENCES
National Law Information Center. Support for Diet Education Act. Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://www.law.go.kr/engLsSc.do?menuId=1&subMenuId=21&tabMenuId=117&query=%EC%8B%9D%EC%83%9D%ED%99%9C%EA%B5%90%EC%9C%A1%EC%A7%80%EC%9B%90%EB%B2%95#
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education (2025–2029). Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://www.mafra.go.kr/home/5109/subview.do?enc=Zm5jdDF8QEB8JTJGYmJzJTJ...
A National Framework for Sustainable Dietary Education: Korea’s 4th Basic Plan (2025–2029)
ABSTRACT
The Republic of Korea’s 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education (2025–2029) aims to strengthen national efforts to promote balanced, sustainable, and practical dietary practices across all age groups. Established every five years under the Support for Diet Education Act and led by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Plan integrates educational content related to agriculture, rural communities, food, and the environment. This Plan builds on the achievements and lessons of the previous three plans, addressing ongoing challenges such as demographic shifts, rising food insecurity, and environmental concerns. It outlines a clear vision and core values—Environment, Health, and Consideration—and sets concrete targets to expand dietary education in schools, communities, and local food systems. Key strategies include developing lifelong education systems, reinforcing experiential and eco-friendly practices, activating local-level education networks, enhancing digital platforms, training professional educators, and reinforcing governance and legal frameworks. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the 4th Basic Plan’s objectives, implementation strategies, and expected contributions to sustainable national dietary practices.
Keywords: Dietary Education, Sustainable Food System, Agriculture, Environment, National Basic Plan
INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Korea has established and announced the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education, covering the period from 2025 to 2029. The Basic Plan for Dietary Education is a national-level plan formulated every five years by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under the Support for Diet Education Act. As the Plan encompasses educational content related to agriculture, rural communities, food, and the environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs serves as the competent authority for this Act in Korea. This paper examines the detailed contents of Korea’s 4th (2025–2029) Basic Plan for Dietary Education.
Background for the Implementation of the 4th (2025~2029) Basic Plan for Dietary Education
The Republic of Korea establishes a Basic Plan every five years under the SUPPORT FOR DIET EDUCATION ACT (enacted in 2009) to improve the nutrition and health of its people and to enhance their quality of life through balanced dietary practices. The 1st Basic Plan for Dietary Education was implemented from 2010 to 2014, the 2nd from 2015 to 2019, and the 3rd from 2020 to 2024. The Basic Plan for Dietary Education stipulates the goals and directions for dietary education, specific measures for dietary education at home, schools, and in communities, and measures to promote exchanges between agricultural and fisheries producers and consumers.
The Republic of Korea places significant importance on dietary education as a means to encourage people to practice healthy eating habits voluntarily and to help shape sound dietary practices, thereby improving national nutritional habits. By formulating and implementing the Basic Plan for Dietary Education, Korea aims to enhance food accessibility for socially vulnerable groups such as the elderly and low-income households, resolve nutritional imbalances, and positively influence the formation of values among future generations, including infants and students. Moreover, an important background for establishing and implementing the Basic Plan for Dietary Education is to raise public awareness of the public value of agriculture and rural communities and to draw attention to sustainable values such as environmental protection throughout the entire food system*.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has so far established three Basic Plans for Dietary Education (1st to 3rd) and developed an implementation system and infrastructure for dietary education. In addition, the concept of dietary education has been expanded from healthy eating to sustainable eating, and education has been promoted based on this broader concept. In other words, dietary education has been pursued not only to improve health and nutrition but also to contribute to environmental and social sustainability. However, despite various policy efforts, there have been limitations in translating dietary education into actual improvements in dietary habits due to internal and external changes such as the increase in single-person households, the outbreak of COVID-19, and instability in the global agri-food supply chain. For example, the implementation rate of the Dietary Guidelines for Koreans decreased from 64.1% in 2020 to 57.5% in 2024, and the proportion of people having regular meals remained almost unchanged, from 35.0% in 2020 to 34.8% in 2024, illustrating such limitations.
In formulating the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs focused on strengthening the substance of dietary education and reorganizing the support system for dietary education by thoroughly reviewing and evaluating the progress and implementation of the past three Basic Plans and comprehensively considering internal and external changes.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE PREVIOUS BASIC PLANS
Looking first at the achievements of the previous Basic Plans (1st to 3rd), it is recognized that they played an important role in expanding the foundation for dietary education aimed at “people-centered, customized education,” especially for future generations, and in spreading awareness of the public value of agriculture and the environment.
First, the previous plans promoted customized education. Dietary education programs were expanded, focusing on daycare centers, kindergartens, and schools, and were linked to food assistance projects targeting vulnerable groups. From 2020 to 2024, dietary education for students reached a total of 621,222 participants. In addition, dietary education linked with the Agri-Food Voucher Support Project, which provides food assistance to vulnerable groups, reached 21,505 people from 2020 to 2024.
Second, the previous plans also promoted dietary education related to agriculture and the environment. Specifically, they encouraged dietary education combined with activities such as urban farming, production site experiences, and environmental education, thereby raising public awareness of diets that consider agriculture and the environment. One key outcome was the increase in the proportion of people who regard the role of producers as important when consuming food — from 86.9% in 2020 to 92.5% in 2024.
Third, the previous plans consistently expanded the educational infrastructure for dietary education. Infrastructure was developed to utilize local agricultural product supply-consumption systems, customized educational content for each target group was created, and an online education platform was established. For example, the achievement of building infrastructure that utilizes local agricultural product supply-consumption systems includes support for projects establishing complex local food stores that integrate food culture spaces such as restaurants, cafes, and shared kitchens.
While these three Basic Plans brought many accomplishments, several limitations were also identified. Due to changes in internal and external conditions, progress in improving public health, nutrition, and dietary habits has been limited.
First, changes in the population structure, such as the increase in single-person households, have led to higher rates of dining out and skipping breakfast, resulting in insufficient nutrient intake for many people and worsening nutritional imbalances, including a rise in lifestyle-related diseases. Indicators reflecting these limitations include:
Second, due to global factors such as the Russia–Ukraine war, the war in the Middle East, and the intensification of abnormal weather patterns, instability in food prices has worsened. This has placed an even greater burden on vulnerable groups, which have not been adequately addressed. The Engel’s coefficient increased from 13.5% in 2019 to 14.3% in 2024, and the food security rate among economically vulnerable groups was only 66.9%, significantly lower than the 97.8% rate for other groups.
Third, the outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting social distancing measures caused disruptions in the operation of dietary education programs, revealing that face-to-face, in-person education systems often lack effectiveness under such conditions.
Fourth, although the volume of food waste has been on a downward trend, about 70% of total food waste still comes from households and small restaurants. From an environmental perspective, there is a clear need to improve public awareness further, but past dietary education efforts have faced limitations in driving such improvements.
DIRECTION FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 4TH BASIC PLAN FOR DIETARY EDUCATION
Basic Direction
Target groups
The target groups for the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education cover “all age groups,” spanning from schools to the broader society. In other words, the 4th Basic Plan aims to promote dietary education for people of all ages.
First, within schools, the plan seeks to move beyond one-time programs offered only during “after-school hours” and instead strengthen “school-based dietary education” by linking it with existing educational initiatives such as Neulbom Schools (after-school care programs), discretionary school hours, and the Free Semester System.
Next, at the community level, the plan recognizes that despite the development of content in the past, actual implementation has been insufficient. Thus, the 4th Basic Plan will focus on activating life-cycle and target-specific community dietary education to address changes such as an aging population and the increase in single-person households. To close gaps in health and nutrition, dietary education and nutritional support for vulnerable groups will also be strengthened.
Educational content
The educational content of the 4th Basic Plan will focus on enhancing practical dietary practice through “hands-on and connected education,” moving away from the fragmented approach of the past. Previously, programs such as agricultural experiences, rural field trips, nutrition education, and environmental education were provided separately. Under the new plan, however, comprehensive programs will be offered that cover the entire food supply chain — from production and consumption to disposal.
In particular, the 4th Basic Plan aims to:
In terms of teaching methods, the previous focus was mainly on one-off experiential activities. The 4th Basic Plan will instead promote multiple-sessions, experience-oriented education to deepen engagement.
Educational methods
Key methods for delivering dietary education under the 4th Basic Plan will include promoting education at the local level and actively utilizing online platforms, thereby diversifying how education is provided.
First, for local-level education, the central government (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) will develop standard educational programs and provide them to local governments. Local governments will establish local public-private consultative bodies to identify regional education demands, compile databases of local educational resources, including spaces and personnel, and match these resources with local education needs to deliver effective programs.
Second, to improve the educational infrastructure, the plan will address the previously low use of online platforms for sharing educational materials. It will integrate dietary education-related information scattered across the public and private sectors, provide it in a centralized way, and strengthen two-way communication among stakeholders involved in dietary education.
Vision and Goals
As shown in Table 1, the 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education presents a clear vision, core values, specific goals, and implementation tasks that align with the national commitment to sustainable dietary practices.
Value and vision
The Basic Plan is founded on the core values of Environment, Health, and Consideration, underscoring the importance of sustainability, public health, and shared responsibility. Its overarching vision is “A society where everyone practices sustainable dietary habits together,” aiming to cultivate a culture of healthy and eco-friendly eating across all generations.
Goals
To realize this vision, two main goals have been set.
First, the plan seeks to strengthen support for school education and expand opportunities for community education, with the target of increasing the rate of sustainable dietary practices among adults from 47.8% in 2024 to 65.0% by 2029, and among adolescents from 32.1% to 60.0% during the same period.
Second, the plan aims to establish a dietary education system linked to local food systems, targeting an increase in the local agricultural product consumption rate from 56.4% in 2024 to 70.0% by 2029.
Implementation Tasks
To achieve these goals, four key areas of implementation have been outlined:
Implementation System
To support these tasks, the plan emphasizes the importance of expanding cooperation among diverse stakeholders, securing legal grounds, and advancing the performance evaluation system for continuous improvement.
Table 1. Vision and goals of the 4th basic plan for dietary education
Category
Details
Value
Environment · Health · Consideration
Vision
A society where everyone practices sustainable dietary habits together
Goals
◆ Strengthen support for school education and expand community education opportunities
- Sustainable dietary practice rate (%): (2024) Adults 47.8, Adolescents 32.1 → (2029) Adults 65.0, Adolescents 60.0
◆ Establish a dietary education system linked to local food systems
- Local agricultural product consumption rate (%): (2024) 56.4 → (2029) 70.0
Implementation
tasks
① Establish a Lifelong Dietary Education System
1) Expand school dietary education through inter-ministerial cooperation
2) Activate customized community dietary education by life stage and target group
3) Provide dietary education linked with food assistance for vulnerable
groups
② Strengthen Practical Competence through Experiential Education
1) Expand programs linking nutrition and cooking education with farming and rural experiences
2) Strengthen agricultural and environmental value education to promote eco-
friendly practices
3) Provide education to spread traditional dietary habits in daily life
③ Activate Local-Level Dietary Education
1) Education to strengthen the consumption base using local food resources
2) Establish systems to identify and support local education demand
3) Develop the foundation for revitalizing local dietary education
④ Strengthen the Foundation for Educational Effectiveness
1) Establish a digital education infrastructure to improve accessibility
2) Secure a system for training professional dietary education personnel
3) Expand nationwide promotion to spread sustainable dietary practices
Implementation
system
Expand cooperation among diverse stakeholders, secure legal grounds, and advance performance evaluation
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2025.
DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION TASKS OF THE 4TH BASIC PLAN FOR DIETARY EDUCATION
Establishment of a Lifelong Dietary Education System
School education
The Plan will expand experience-based dietary education through inter-ministerial cooperation. For young children, various activities will be supported, including urban farming and agricultural sensory experiences (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs), seafood experience classes (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries), and healthy eating exploration programs (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety).
For children and adolescents, customized education will be offered by linking it with school curricula according to age group. For example, Neulbom Schools’ dietary education programs will be expanded by grade (from 50 classes in 2025 to over 150 classes annually from 2026 onward) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Experiential education, such as nutrition education and cooking classes, will also be supported during discretionary hours and Free Semester periods in elementary and middle schools.
Community education
The Plan will expand education using customized content for different life stages and target groups, such as young adults (single-person households), pregnant women, multicultural families, and middle-aged and older adults. Various forms of education will be provided, including community-based group education through relevant institutions, outreach group training for soldiers and office workers, remote and online programs, and home-visit education for the elderly.
Support for vulnerable groups
The Agri-Food Voucher Project will be continuously expanded, and dietary education for encouraging healthy eating habits among vulnerable groups will be extended nationwide from 2025. The target is to expand from 87,000 households in 2025 (US$55.2 million) to include all 1.27 million households receiving livelihood benefits gradually.
Strengthening Practical Competence through Experiential Education
Agriculture and rural areas
The Plan will expand experience-based dietary education spaces utilizing agricultural and rural resources and support multiple-session programs covering experiences, nutrition, and cooking education. High-quality rural dietary education sites will be expanded to vitalize such experiential programs (from 354 sites in 2024 to 400 by 2029). Standard guidelines for curricula integrating life-cycle, experience, nutrition, and cooking education will be distributed, and consulting support will be provided to enhance the quality of ongoing programs.
Environment
Education to promote eco-friendly dietary practices among consumers of agri-food products will be strengthened. Educational programs in the form of campaigns will be developed to spread environmentally friendly eating practices and will be implemented at various sites, including schools and local children’s centers. The Plan will also promote good practices for eco-friendly agri-food consumption and food waste reduction through media and social networks, and identify and share exemplary cases within the food industry and among consumers.
Activation of Local-Level Dietary Education
Local food
Education will be expanded to raise awareness of the value of local food and to boost consumption. Dietary education will be linked to visits to local specialty production sites and harvest experiences. Nutrition and cooking education related to local food will be provided mainly at public meal service sites such as daycare centers, schools, public institutions, and welfare facilities.
Establishing local implementation systems
Public-private consultative bodies involving local stakeholders—including local governments, education offices, schools, private organizations, instructors, experience site managers, public institutions, and NGOs—will be formed to identify local education needs and develop content suited to local contexts. In schools, learning communities led by teachers will identify educational needs and support the development and operation of customized programs. In communities, partnerships with local health, welfare, healthcare, and education organizations will help discover educational needs and link them with appropriate programs, instructors, and venues.
Enhancing local education foundations
Plans and systems will be established to promote local dietary education, and current local education infrastructure will be organized into databases to facilitate matching with educational needs. Local Food Plans will include content on promoting dietary education using local produce. Regional databases of dietary education instructors and spaces will be developed and made available through an online platform to enable two-way matching with local demand.
Enhancing the Foundation for Educational Effectiveness
Online platform
The Plan will strengthen the digital education infrastructure by enhancing the existing platform (Dietary Education Classroom), which previously provided only basic information, to serve as an integrated information and communication hub. Dietary education information scattered across related institutions will be integrated and made accessible, covering food consumption trends, nutrition information and recipes for local produce, regional education programs, and information on experience sites. The platform will support interactive communication among policy managers, experts, and learners, enabling local demand-resource matching, online learning and training, academic exchanges, and feedback from the field.
Training of professional personnel
A new Professional Certification Program for dietary educators will be introduced and operated from 2025 to improve expertise and systematic management of instructors. The number of certified professionals will grow from 150 in 2025 to 800 by 2029. Required courses (totaling 120 hours) will cover eight core competencies, including understanding dietary education, sustainable diets, the value of agriculture and rural communities, food and culinary culture, taste education, food selection and cooking, healthy eating habits, and program development. Refresher training every two years will help maintain competencies. The program will be operated mainly by designated dietary education institutions (68 institutions as of 2024).
Reorganization of the Implementation System
To strengthen collaboration among diverse stakeholders, a new Dietary Education Council (tentative name) will be formed, involving relevant ministries, local governments, schools and other educational institutions, private organizations, and academia. The Council will discuss inter-ministerial and public-private cooperative projects, identify educational needs from the field, evaluate performance, provide policy advice, share domestic and international best practices, and facilitate networking among practitioners.
To ensure systematic management of dietary education experience sites and institutions, the SUPPORT FOR DIET EDUCATION ACT will be amended. Currently, there are no detailed legal provisions for managing experience sites and institutions. The amendment will establish legal grounds for designating, renewing, and managing the validity of such facilities.
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This paper reviews the Republic of Korea’s 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education (2025–2029), a national policy framework established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under the Support for Diet Education Act. The Plan aims to strengthen the foundations of lifelong dietary education by expanding its scope from promoting healthy eating to fostering sustainable food systems. It builds on the achievements and lessons learned from the previous three plans while addressing ongoing challenges such as demographic shifts, changing food environments, rising health disparities, and environmental sustainability. The Plan sets out clear goals, detailed implementation tasks, and specific performance targets covering school-based programs, community education, support for vulnerable groups, local food system linkages, experiential and environmental education, professional capacity building, and governance improvements.
The 4th Basic Plan demonstrates Korea’s commitment to enhancing national dietary practices in line with broader goals of public health and environmental sustainability. By expanding inter-ministerial collaboration, strengthening local education delivery systems, and improving digital and professional training infrastructure, the Plan seeks to ensure that dietary education becomes more accessible, practical, and impactful for all age groups. Despite previous limitations—such as low compliance with dietary guidelines and limited reach among vulnerable populations—the new Plan introduces more comprehensive, experience-based, and community-linked approaches that aim to bridge the gap between policy design and real-life behavioral change.
The findings suggest that Korea’s approach could serve as a valuable policy reference for other countries seeking to integrate healthy eating education with sustainable food systems and environmental awareness. By emphasizing lifelong, community-based, and digital dietary education, the Plan aims to reduce nutritional inequalities, strengthen local food economies, and promote climate-friendly food consumption patterns. For policymakers and practitioners, the 4th Basic Plan highlights the importance of connecting agriculture, environment, and public health goals within a unified dietary education framework supported by robust governance, legislation, and professional training.
In particular, the Plan provides timely policy implications for countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where rapid urbanization, demographic shifts, and changing food environments pose similar challenges to healthy and sustainable diets. Korea’s experience shows that comprehensive, multi-level dietary education—linked to local food systems, experiential learning, and digital platforms—can be an effective strategy for addressing nutritional disparities, supporting rural communities, and encouraging eco-friendly food choices. Regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing based on Korea’s case could help neighboring countries develop their context-specific dietary education systems that balance health, sustainability, and community engagement.
REFERENCES
National Law Information Center. Support for Diet Education Act. Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://www.law.go.kr/engLsSc.do?menuId=1&subMenuId=21&tabMenuId=117&query=%EC%8B%9D%EC%83%9D%ED%99%9C%EA%B5%90%EC%9C%A1%EC%A7%80%EC%9B%90%EB%B2%95#
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 4th Basic Plan for Dietary Education (2025–2029). Retrieved June 28, 2025, from https://www.mafra.go.kr/home/5109/subview.do?enc=Zm5jdDF8QEB8JTJGYmJzJTJ...