Hallyu Push for Food

After reading about all the recent backlash to Hallyu, I was a bit worried that things might be slowing down... but never fear! A quick Google search revealed that Hallyu is alive and well with ever more backing from the Korean government. One article I came across which I thought was particularly interesting was entitled, "S. Korea chooses its dishes to broaden its marketing concept." In an effort to redefine the Hallyu wave in 2007 (presumably in response to the backlash we've been reading about), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has placed its top priority on promoting new "content," which will include, among other things, food.

The government plans to spend 78 billion won (or $8.7 billion) over the next four years to globally promote Hansik (Korean food). The plan is to choose ten dishes that best represent Korean food culture, standardize the recipes, and distribute them to Korean restaurants overseas. In addition, the Ministry will offer consulting to overseas Korean restaurants to help restaurant owners better manage their businesses, and will offer scholarships to Korean chefs to go abroad and help teach their foreign counterparts to cook "tastier" Korean dishes. Finally, the government plans to produce commercials and documentaries about Korean food with the hopes of airing them on foreign TV networks.

I think this is definitely a step in the right direction for the Korean government's Hallyu strategy. As we saw earlier in the class, many of the popular dramas (especially Jewel in the Palace) created a demand for Korean food, so there is definitely a market out there for people who wish to consume and learn to cook Korean food. In addition, capitalist markets are all about creating new products to fulfill consumer desires, and while I doubt that the market for TV dramas and movies is saturated, I think that food is a great new arena for the Koreans to promote. After all, who doesn't love food??

My only qualm is with the Ministry's decision to try to standardize some popular dishes. One of the things that makes restaurants great is their individual takes on classic dishes. If every restaurant tasted the same, all the fun would be taken out of exploring new places and new foods. Also, I would imagine that there are some regional differences in Korean food, and standardizing recipes would destroy that uniqueness. While I think the government is right to promote certain dishes and offer a base recipe, I don't think they should be encouraging every restaurant to make the dish the same exact way. Granted, there's no way the Ministry can enforce this abroad, so I'm sure that each restaurant will do it their own way anyhow, but I just think it's unrealistic and counter-productive to even try to institute such rigid standards.

Regardless, overall I think this is definitely a positive push from the Korean government. I, for one, am certainly looking forward to the day when I can flip on the Food Network and find a Korea cooking show (even better if they make it something a la Iron Chef!). In my experience, the stomach is the key to anyone's heart (not just a man's as the old saying goes), and I think that Hallyu is wise to use this strategy.

Full text of the article is below:

S. Korea chooses its dishes to broaden its marketing concept
Mar 15, 07 , 12:03 pm
By Satish Gupta l eTN Asia

Even as Korea reiterates its focus on cultural marketing, the government authorities have decided to reach out to taste buds of people across the globe by promoting Korean dishes.Food along with traditional clothing, traditional home, rice paper and music has already been recognized as main tools for promotion of Korea. Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism has decided to place top priority on nurturing the fast-evolving content business and redefining “hallyu” or the Korean Wave in 2007.

Now Korean dishes are broadening Hallyu by expanding their presence in the international arena. As per the information available with eTurboNews, from next year onwards, Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will spend 78 billion won, or roughly 8.7 billion dollars, over the next four years to globalize Hansik. The decision to promote Korean food (or “Hansik”) comes at a stage when variety of Korean foods is gaining popularity globally.

There are plans to choose ten food items that can best represent Korea and promote them by creating standardized recipes for the items and distributing them at Korean restaurants overseas, according to the Ministry of Culture & Tourism Republic of Korea.

Further, ministry officials are acknowledging the need to upgrade Korean restaurants abroad to instill a better image of Korean food. It will offer consulting on how to successfully manage the restaurants and how to cook tastier Korean dishes. Furthermore, the ministry will designate an institution in Korea to invite chefs and managers from Korean restaurants abroad to train them.

The Korean government plans to produce TV commercials and documentaries about Korean food with the aim of airing them on foreign TV networks.