SDLC 112 - Cultural Post #1
For my first cultural post, I will be discussing the cultural significance of chimaek (“치맥”) otherwise known as chicken and beer. This is a combination that is widely enjoyed within the Korean community and a meal that has become popularized. In a korean drama I had watched on netflix known as Crash Landing on You, towards the end of the drama, there was a scene where north korean soldiers were absolutely mesmerized when they tried chimaek for the first time. This led me to do research regarding the cultural and societal significance of chimaek.
The actual word itself is a combination of two words. “Chi” for chicken and “Maek” for maekju which is the Korean word for beer. This also highlights a popular trend among Korean linguistic trends that creates efficient, catchy abbreviations for popular trends. While Chimaek can be eaten alone, it is rarely done so, as usually the meal is designed for sharing among friends and co-workers.
Traditionally, Koreans boiled or steamed their chicken which can be seen in popular dishes such as “samgyetang”. The concept of deep-frying chicken didn’t take place until American troops were stationed in Korea after the Korean war. At first, fried chicken was too greasy and dry but was eventually revolutionized when it was coated in “yanyeom” which is a stick, sweet and spicy based gochujang sauce.
As of recently, fried chicken has become one of the most famous and extremely popular with fried chicken even having its own category known as, “korean fried chicken”. There have been over 80,000 restaurants in South Korea that have been added that specialize in just fried chicken. In a recent video that circulated, you could even see the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang sharing chimaek with the chairman of global companies, Hyundai and Samsung. The cultural impact of chimaek has become so massive that the Oxford dictionary added it in 2021, recognizing it as a global culinary term.
For my first cultural post, I will be discussing the cultural significance of chimaek (“치맥”) otherwise known as chicken and beer. This is a combination that is widely enjoyed within the Korean community and a meal that has become popularized. In a korean drama I had watched on netflix known as Crash Landing on You, towards the end of the drama, there was a scene where north korean soldiers were absolutely mesmerized when they tried chimaek for the first time. This led me to do research regarding the cultural and societal significance of chimaek.
The actual word itself is a combination of two words. “Chi” for chicken and “Maek” for maekju which is the Korean word for beer. This also highlights a popular trend among Korean linguistic trends that creates efficient, catchy abbreviations for popular trends. While Chimaek can be eaten alone, it is rarely done so, as usually the meal is designed for sharing among friends and co-workers.
Traditionally, Koreans boiled or steamed their chicken which can be seen in popular dishes such as “samgyetang”. The concept of deep-frying chicken didn’t take place until American troops were stationed in Korea after the Korean war. At first, fried chicken was too greasy and dry but was eventually revolutionized when it was coated in “yanyeom” which is a stick, sweet and spicy based gochujang sauce.
As of recently, fried chicken has become one of the most famous and extremely popular with fried chicken even having its own category known as, “korean fried chicken”. There have been over 80,000 restaurants in South Korea that have been added that specialize in just fried chicken. In a recent video that circulated, you could even see the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang sharing chimaek with the chairman of global companies, Hyundai and Samsung. The cultural impact of chimaek has become so massive that the Oxford dictionary added it in 2021, recognizing it as a global culinary term.
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