Olive Oil Times × Olive Academy Seoul
Shaping the Value and Future
of Olive Oil in Korea
Curtis Cord founded Olive Oil Times in 2010, recognizing the urgent need for transparency and accurate information in an industry plagued by fraud and misinformation. As a journalist dedicated to truth, he built the world’s most trusted source for olive oil news.
In 2011, he established the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) at the International Culinary Center – now the world’s most prestigious olive oil competition, setting the global benchmark for quality that producers worldwide aspire to achieve.
It Started in Saint-Tropez
Curtis Cord was a New York businessman until a small shop in southern France changed his life.
A shopkeeper described olive oil the way wine experts describe vintages – family heritage, terroir, harvest methods, tree age. Curtis realized: this wasn’t just a product. This was culture in a bottle.
The Problem Back Home
In New York, Curtis found shelves full of olive oil – but zero expertise. Consumers chose based on packaging and price, unaware of what they were missing. Producers with generations of knowledge couldn’t reach the people who needed it.
Curtis saw an injustice: extraordinary oils existed, but no one could tell them apart.
The Mission: Transparency
Curtis started Olive Oil Times to close that gap. His goal: help consumers understand health benefits, flavor, and the human stories behind each bottle. When people know the truth, they pay fair prices. When farmers receive fair prices, they can continue their craft.
Curtis built a global platform ensuring that quality and truth reach everyone.
I was living as an ordinary office worker in Yeouido, Seoul, when my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. This profound moment awakened me to the critical importance of health, and I began studying the environment, the human body, and food. I discovered the harmful effects of the seed oils (식용유) I had used my entire life, and that’s when I encountered olive oil. But Korea had no experts, no infrastructure for learning. The answers were overseas.
I didn’t just research—I traveled. I flew to Tokyo to meet Japan’s leading experts. I went to New York to learn from pioneers in the industry. Then I headed to Imperia, Italy, where I immersed myself in O.N.A.O.O.’s intensive training program and earned my olive oil taster certification.
Driven to find the world’s finest oils, I traveled 2,700 kilometers across Italy in 2024 alone—from Sicily in the south to the northern regions—meeting producers and deepening my understanding.
Through these connections, I discovered the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition and Olive Oil Times. Meeting Curtis Cord changed everything.
Korea’s olive oil market was one of the fastest-growing in the world, driven by rising health consciousness. But there was a problem. No experts—only marketing. Consumers were still choosing based on price and packaging alone.
Korea needed professionals who could distinguish the real from the fake. The right knowledge needed to spread.
Curtis’s program had been proven and refined over a decade, expanding across New York, London, and Amsterdam. A global network conducted in English, with world-class instructors including NYIOOC judges and medical doctors.
I spent over a year convincing him. I flew to Amsterdam to meet him in person and explain Korea’s potential. In December 2025, Curtis finally believed.
Olive Academy Seoul—world-class education, now in Korea.
“Olive Academy Seoul exists to protect both people and planet through education. We bring world-class olive oil training to Korea, cultivating professional sommeliers who spread truth in a market filled with marketing claims. Proper olive oil education transforms culinary experiences, empowers healthier choices, and elevates food culture—building a sustainable future for humanity and Earth.“
Beyond exceptional flavor, premium olive oil is profound nourishment for your body. Rich in polyphenols and healthy fats, it fights inflammation, protects your heart, and supports cognitive function. Ancient Mediterranean populations have thrived on olive oil for millennia—modern science now confirms what they always knew: olive oil is liquid gold for human health. Understanding these benefits transforms not just what you cook, but how you live.
Beyond individual health, olive oil represents a commitment to humanity and our planet.
Olive trees are living carbon sinks—absorbing CO₂ for centuries while preventing soil erosion and preserving biodiversity in Mediterranean ecosystems. Unlike industrial seed oil production, which relies on chemical processing and monoculture farming, traditional olive cultivation works in harmony with nature.
Every bottle of premium olive oil tells a story of sustainable agriculture passed down through generations. Ancient groves, some over a thousand years old, continue to produce exceptional oils while nurturing the land and supporting local communities.
By choosing premium olive oil over industrial seed oils, we invest in both human well-being and environmental sustainability. We support farmers who protect the Earth. We preserve traditional knowledge. We create a healthier future—not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come.
This is education with purpose. This is olive oil as a force for good.
