Culture Focus

Ⅰ. K-Food

1. Evolution of K-Food: A Journey through the History of 20th Century Korean Food
This article aims to examine at how Korean food has changed from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. Using the framework of the formation of global food regimes and the incorporation of the Korean peninsula into them, I will focus on Korean diets and their interactions with global food regimes during the key periods of Korean history since Korea began to open its ports to the outside world. There are six keywords for this framework: the opening of ports in the period from 1876 to the time of the Korean Empire, colonization from 1910 to 1945, war such as the Pacific War and the Korean War from 1938 to 1953, the Cold War after the Korean War until the 1970s, condensed growth in the 1980s and 1990s, when Koreans began to taste the consequences of economic growth, and globalization from the 1990s to the present.

I believe that the food consumed by Koreans today is largely constructed by these six keywords. The five periods of port opening, colonization, war, cold war, and condensed growth were characterized by a process of integrating the Korean peninsula into the world food system. However, in the 1990s, with the spread of globalization, Korean food and food products began to spread to other countries. During this period, Korean food gained international recognition. Since the 2000s, the global popularity of K-pop, K-dramas, and K-movies has encouraged young people around the world to eat and drink like Koreans.

Some of the foods consumed by Koreans today may be considered good or bad, depending on the tastes of individuals or communities. While individual or community taste are necessarily subjective, they are also a product of history. In this article, I will explore the history of Korean food over the past 120 years through six different lenses. Before delving into that, let’s take a brief look at the dining habits of Koreans at the end of the 19th century.

2. A Korean Nobleman at the Dining Table in the late 19th Century
A postcard circulated in France in the early 20th century. It was taken in the wooden floor of a Korean nobleman’s house. The man in the postcard seems to be in his mid-20s. The table in front of him is called “gaedari (dog-legged) soban (small dining table)” because its legs resemble those of a dog. The hat (gat) he wears has a narrow brim, unlike the wide-brimmed type which was popular among the nobility in 18th and 19th-century Joseon. The costume reform implemented in 1884 (King Gojong’s 21st year) changed the shape of the traditional hat, leading to the style seen in this image. He is adorned in a coat known as durumagi (simple-dress attire), a shorter alternative to the previously longer dopo (fulldress attire). The reduced length of the coat is also a consequence of the costume reform. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that this photograph was taken some time between 1884 and 1890.

Observing the dining table from the man's perspective, a bowl of rice is on the left, accompanied by a bowl of soup on the right. In front of them are two small round plates (bosigi) and two much smaller plates (jongji). Adjacent to the man's right knee on the floor, there is a bowl, which serves as a spittoon during the meal. The postcard bears a French inscription at the bottom, saying “CORÉE. Bon appétit!” or “Joseon man. Enjoy your meal!” The French expression “Bon appétit” is a colloquial way to wish someone an enjoyable meal. From this, we can infer that the individual in the photograph is a Joseon man preparing to dine.

What drew the French photographer’s attention to this scene? Koreans today might look at this photo and think that it is because of the large rice and soup bowls, which are almost three times as large as they are today. But the French photographer may have been interested in the fact that the man was eating alone. Homo sapiens is “an animal that eats together.” However, during the Joseon dynasty, which was dominated by a patriarchal system based on Confucian ideology, men of the ruling class were given a single table for both daily meals and rituals such as feasts.

3. Rice and Soup are Individual while Side Dishes are Shared Japanese cultural anthropologist Naomichi Ishige (石毛直道) suggests that the various methods of setting the table for communal dining worldwide can be divided into two categories: private and collective. The private approach involves presenting individual servings of each dish, exclusively for a single diner, akin to the serving style of a Western restaurant’s set meal. Conversely, the collective approach entails sharing the served food among everyone at the table, representing the prevalent serving method in most Korean restaurants. Ishige also highlighted two methods of serving food: consecutive and simultaneous. The consecutive serving of food is exemplified by Western restaurants, where the meal unfolds with appetizers, followed by main dishes, and concluding with dessert. On the other hand, the simultaneous serving method involves presenting all the dishes to be eaten at the same time. Ishige asserts that by combining the types of table setting and serving food, four distinct styles of group eating practices emerge: private and simultaneous, collective and simultaneous, private and consecutive, and collective and consecutive.

The meal shown in this photo aligns with the “private and simultaneous” dining style. In contrast, contemporary Korean restaurants adopt a “collective and simultaneous” approach, a relatively recent development. The concept of gyojasang, a large dining table, only emerged in the 20th century, accommodating two to four individuals dining together, unlike the one in the photo. While rice and soup are served individually, side dishes are presented simultaneously, irrespective of the number of diners. This setup necessitates the sharing of side dishes among the diners, a practice embraced without concerns about cleanliness. At a shared Korean table, communal sharing of side dishes is considered customary.

Bibimbap stands out as one of the most delectable Korean dishes, skillfully combining starch and non-starch elements. As you chew the starchy rice, the prolonged mastication triggers the action of amylase, an enzyme present in your saliva. More precisely, the ptyalin in amylase breaks down the starch in rice, transforming it into sugar. This process imparts a sweet taste to the rice when chewed. Additionally, the inclusion of animal proteins contributes savory flavors, as the amino acids present in them enhance the overall taste. This explains the Korean practice of serving and consuming all components of a meal simultaneously.

Infokorea 2024
Infokorea is a magazine that introduces Korea to readers overseas, including teachers, textbook developers and other educators. The magazine offers the latest statistics on the Republic of Korea and articles that focus on Korean culture, society and history, which can be used as a reference source for textbook writers and editors and as materials for teachers to prepare for class. The theme of the 2024 issue was 'K-FoodEducation in Korea'.