Korean Food, Korean Identidy: The Impact of Globalization of Korean Food and Agriculture

John Feffer's piece concentrates on the effect of globalization on Korean food production and consumption. Because I am more interested in the food itself, this is what I will focus on.

Before reading this article, my impression of Korean food was from watching Korean dramas and offerings by the on-campus restaurants Korean Pizza Place and the food truck Koja's. Thus my impression of Korean food was kimchi, bulgogi, and rice cakes. Consequently, I always had the impression that Korean food was spicy because many of the offerings of Korean Pizza Place were noodles and rice cakes in literally RED soup. Therefore, I was surprised when Feffer stated that the traditional RED Korean items are a product of globalization, I was pretty surprised.

Take tongpaechu, the most common Korean kimchi for example. Tongpaechu is whole cabbage kimchi fermented with red pepper powder. According to Feffer the process of pickling was introduced into Korea from China during the Shilla dynasty and red peppers were introduced by the Japanese in the late 16th century in the wake of the Hideyoshi invasions. Or the Korean barbecue dishes that "occupy the heart of Korean cooking today." According to Feffer, the technique of grilling meat was introduced by the Mongols in the 13th century.

In addition, there are also the modern hybrids in the Korean diet. Take budae chigae or "piggie stew" which is made from Spam and/or Vienna sausages along with a mix of vegetables and noodles that is popular dish at middle-class restaurants. What's interesting about this dish is that it was developed by scavengers who scavenged in the garbage dumps of the bengko (big nose or westerner) community and was originally made by boiling meat and cheese and chicken bones or any canned items together. That it is now a middle class dish and uses a western meat item (Span) as the base is an extremely interesting factor.

On the other hand, there are Korean dishes. Take poshintang (dog soup) or naengmyen (cold noodles), both of which are considered to be traditionally Korean. Naengmyen especially is associated with North Korea as many North Korean refugees opened up naengmyenjip or cold noodle shops in South Korea to give the South a taste of the North.

In addition to the dishes themselves, the South Korean diet has also changed. Modern Koreans are eating less rice, fewer vegetables and more quantities of meat. Dishes such as sollomgtang (beef soup) and bulgogi (beef barbecue), originally luxury or celebratory dishes are becoming more common in the Korean diet. Yet surprisingly, Korean obesity rates are still alot lower than to be expected of a country with its economic development.

More interesting though is the fact that the Korean diet has endured pretty well due to long term resistance to outside pressures for Korean food. Examples of the resistance would be social movements such as the “Love Korean products” movement in 1909 and the anti-colonial, and anti-globalization movements of the past century. Indeed I feel that dramas such as Jewel in the Palace may be an example of a modern attempt to preserve Korean food culture in the wake of the current wave of globalization.