First generation
Candy making, begun against hunger
Cheongwon Food’s history began with one person’s devotion to the work. As a boy, the first generation started at a candy factory run by a Japanese operator so that he could get past hunger. He was in his mid-to-late teens. For nearly ten years he learned the floor and candy making, and later widened that work to jelly, yakgwa — a Korean honey pastry — and ice cream.
A setback, and a fresh start
In the 1970s he ran his own factory. As the business went on, trading problems he had not expected arrived, and the factory had to close. He still could not give up candy making.
In the mid-1980s he opened Narae Food, a small candy factory, and went back to handmade sweets: dalgona, peppermint candy, nunal and lollipops. They were the sweets many people still remember. The 50-piece Golden Dalgona sold in South Korea today is made in China and imported by Cheongwon Food.
Second generation
A second generation on the production floor
In the early 1990s the youngest son joined the floor, and a second generation of candy making began. He did not start in a senior role. He came in as the most junior member and began by cleaning the machines.
He learned the work with his hands: the process, blending, technique and production management. About fifteen years beside his father became a foundation for Cheongwon Food.
8 June 2010: Cheongwon Food opens
Drawing on those years, the second generation opened Cheongwon Food as his own manufacturing business. The opening date is 8 June 2010. His father stepped back from day-to-day production and stayed on as a guide, with a lifetime of experience behind him.
Golden Dalgona, in the COVID-19 years
Another hard period arrived. During COVID-19, trade and distribution contracted, and production and sales became very difficult. Cheongwon Food came close to closing.
The second generation decided that staying with the existing methods would not keep the company, and took on a new method and a new product. That product is Golden Dalgona Candy. It keeps the memory of traditional dalgona and adds a new way of making it.
About three years of equipment development
A new product raised problems that the machines then available could not solve. Over about three years, Cheongwon Food developed new manufacturing equipment for it. The work was to build the technology and the machines, and then complete the product.
Philosophy
Learning, failing, and starting again
The history of Cheongwon Food is more than the years spent making candy. It is the story of learning a skill, meeting failure, standing up again, and passing both the skill and the spirit from one generation to the next.
Preserve the taste of tradition. Reinterpret it for today’s consumers.
Cheongwon Food will continue to preserve that taste and care, pursue new methods, and work towards becoming a leading traditional confectionery maker from South Korea.
Business · Trademark · Awards
Business registration, trademark and awards
Business registration
Cheongwon Food business registration
- Business name
- Cheongwon Food
- Business opening date
- 8 June 2010
Trademark
Golden Dalgona trademark
The Golden Dalgona trademark is No. 1723901, Class 30, registered on 6 May 2021. The proprietor named on the register is Kim Tae-hee. The register extract and the Korean Intellectual Property Office registration gazette are records of this same trademark.
Awards
Awards received in 2022
On 27 May 2022, the representative of Cheongwon Food received a commendation from the chair of the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee for contributing to the national economy through food development. The same day, Cheongwon Food received the 2022 Korea Global Power Brand Award for contributing to the national economy through customer satisfaction. The plaque names Golden Dalgona.