As early as July, 135 Korean food restaurants nationwide will serve dishes with less salt.

The low-salt initiative will start with 45 restaurants in Seoul and will expand to 90 others in Chungcheong Provinces, Daegu, Busan and Ulsan within a month, the Korea Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

“The restaurateurs will choose the five most popular dishes at their stores and reduce the sodium in them,” the KFDA said in a press release. The restaurants had volunteered for the scheme, the authorities said, but the less-salty diet will be a huge promotional opportunity.

“Since sodium is dense in Jjigae (broth) and soup menus, the first target will be traditional soups. We expect the menus to become each restaurant’s specialties for their healthiness,” the food agency added.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Koreans take an average of 4,646 milligrams of sodium a day, more than twice the World Health Organization’s guideline of less than 2,000 mg.

(baejisook@heraldcorp.com)