“There'sneverbeenaKoreanfoodbooklikethisbefore”
AsthefirstMinisterofCulture,LeeO-young,states,peoplewhosay'eatage'(whichmeansgettingolder),'eatmoney'(thatis,earningit),'eatinsults'(beingbad-mouthed),'eathardship'(exertingyourself),'eatfear'(gettingscared),‘eatyourmind'(makingupone’smind),'eatachampionship'(winningone),and'eatfeelings'(whenoneisreallytouched)areKoreans.Indealingwithfood,time,space,emotions,andgoods,Koreanshavebeeninseparablefromtheactivityofeating.However,therewerenotmanybooksthatexploredthewaytheyateandlived.Aboveall,itisraretofindabookthatproperlyanswersthequestionofpeopleoutsidethecountry,'WhatarethecharacteristicsofKoreanfood?'
FiveCodestoExamineKoreanFood:‘Flavorlessness,’‘Fusion,’‘Fermentation,’‘Gathering,’and‘Moist-Heat’
〈KFOOD:SecretsofKoreanFlavors〉istheresultofanefforttoexaminethespiritandsubstance,andthepastandthepresent,thathastakenrootintheKoreantable,withadenseandboldeye.Aboveall,thisbooklooksatKoreanfoodintermsofculturalcodessuch,as'flavorlessness,''fusion,''fermentation,''gathering,'and'moist-heat'insteadoftraditionalstandards,suchas'season'and'ingredients.'Koreanfoodbeginswithablandandmild‘tasteless’rice,andthatriceiswrappedupinassamormixedwithmeatandvegetableingredients,sesameoil,andredpepperpastefor‘fusion’properties,whicharethefirstandsecondcodes.WhiletheWesterncookingcodeconsistsoftheconfrontationbetweencookedandraw,andmeatdietandvegetarianism,thethirdcodeexaminesthetasteoffermentedKoreanfood,thatis,Koreanfoodthrough‘fermentation.’Thefourthcode,‘namulculture,’looksintoKoreanfoodthroughthetraditionofthe‘gatheringera’ofdiggingfornamul(greens),pickingtreefruits,andpluckingmarineplants.Thefifthcode,‘wetculture’,focusesonfoodsthatarealwaysincludedinKoreans'meals.Theyarebroth-basedfoodssuchassoup,tang,stew,andhotpot,foodsthatneedtobesimmered,suchasyeot(Koreantaffy),grainsyrup,andsyrup,andfoodscookedwithsteam,suchasricecakesandothersteamedfoods.FormerMinisterofCultureLeeO-young,“Korea’sbestscholar,”tookonthetaskofcodingthroughthisinsightintothespiritandmatter,andthepastandthepresentofKoreanfood.HanBokryeo,thedirectoroftheInstituteofKoreanRoyalCuisine,ChungHaekyung,ProfessorintheDepartmentofFoodandNutritionatHoseoUniversity,ParkChaelin,Ph.D.attheWorldInstituteofKimchi,andChaGyunghee,ProfessorofKoreanCuisineatJeonjuUniversity,wereresponsibleforthetaskofspecifyingandpresentingthecodeindetailacrosseachvolume.
Thetwo-year-longjourneybundledintofivevolumesoriginatedfromtheideathatfood,especiallyKoreanfood,isnotjustamaterialsubstancethatfillsthestomachbutsomewhatofa'media'withstrongcommunicationpowers.ThisistheresultofacomprehensiveexaminationfromtherootsofKoreanfoodsuchasroyalcuisine,templefood,andJonggafood,tothesceneryofthediningtablewhereKoreanslivein2021,andfromthesourceofingredientstoproducers,fromrepresentativelocalfoodstopopularproductsonthemarket.
Koreanfood,whichispreparedbymixing,fermenting,seasoning,andboiling,harmonizeswiththeprinciplesofcirculationandparadox.Theydonot‘exclude’but‘include,’andembraceandharmonizewitheachother.Itnotonlyadherestothememoriesofthepastorthetasteoftradition,butalsofusesanddevelopswiththepresenttasteandforeignculture,andasthisbookstruggledtofindthis,itwouldbeveryreasonabletonamethisbook‘K-food,’like‘K-pop,’‘K-drama,’and‘K-beauty.’
Acookbookco-createdbythe‘KoreanFoodAvengers’
〈KFOOD:SecretsofKoreanFlavors〉consistsofthe‘FoodHumanities’sectionatthebeginningofeachbookwhichunravelsKoreanfoodbycode.Atthebackofeachvolume,accordingtothecode,thereare‘everydayKoreanrecipes’thatKoreansenjoythesedays.Atotalof158recipeswererecordedindetail,fromtheselectionofingredientstorecipes:33everydayKoreanfoodmadebywrappingandmixing,54recipesofeverydayKoreanfoodmadebypicklingandfermenting,36recipesofeverydayKoreanfoodpreparedbydigging,picklingandplucking,and35recipesofeverydayKoreanfoodmadebyboiling,simmeringandsteaming.KoreanfoodchefChoHeesuk(2volumes),LeeHayeon(3volumes),theKimchiAssociationofKorea’spresidentandFoodMasterdesignatedbytheMinistryofAgriculture,FoodandRuralAffairs(3volumes),KoreanfoodchefRohYounghee(4volumes),andHanBokryeo(5volumes),amasterofroyalcuisineoftheJoseonDynasty,participatedinthiswork.Itcanbesaidthatitisaworkinwhichthe‘KoreanAvengers’participated.Asaresult,Koreanrecipesthatstartedfromtheauthenticitythatcapturedthepresentanddailylifewerecompleted.Thiscookbook,〈KFOOD:SecretsofKoreanFlavors〉hastheattitudeofseekingtruthfromfacts.
