Food is a huge part of Korean culture and any culture in general, but I think Korea has one of the most diverse and interesting foods in the world. There is so much to Korea’s food culture that makes it so interesting. For example, Koreans film themselves eating Korean food and this is not only big in Korea but became very popular in America. These videos are called 먹방 (Mukbang). In a mukbang there is a wide variety of food and the video consists of usually just one person eating all the food. There is usually no commentary just a video of someone eating food. I don’t find these videos interesting but millions of people all over the world love watching mukbang. Nevertheless, I thought it was very cool because people were recognizing and enjoying a part of Korea’s culture which makes me happy. After all, my food is known to other people in other cultures in the world. Another branch of food culture in Korea is Korea’s food delivery system. In Korea, it is very common to have food delivered to your house/apartment instead of cooking at home. Families will often have food delivered instead of cooking a meal at home. Even though in America delivery services such as GrubHub and uber eats deliver food from all restaurants, food delivery is offered by almost every. A third major part of Korea’s food culture is 김치 (Kimchi). Kimchi is a staple of all Korean food. It is a side dish that is eaten with almost every meal and is often eaten on its own. Kimchi is simply spicy fermented cabbage. Kimchi was created roughly 4,000 years ago. It was made so that the people could have something to eat during the harsh winter. An interesting fact about Kimchi is that it did not always have its famous spicy flavor. It was made without chili flakes and only changed during the 19th century. Thank God because the spice makes it taste way better. As I mentioned earlier, Kimchi is often eaten by itself. In America the classic school lunch is a sandwich; however, in Korea, the classic lunch is Kimchi and rice (and other foods but kimchi and rice are always the main foods). My dad told me that when he was in school his go-to meal was Kimchi and rice every single day. I asked him if he ever got sick of it and he said no, but to be fair I ate a sandwich almost every day from kindergarten to my senior year of high school. I even see him eat Kimchi and rice to this day. This shows how prominent and loved Kimchi is in Korean culture. The final food culture I want to discuss is Korea’s street food. When I went to visit Korea in middle school my dad made sure that I had the full Korean food experience. Thus, he took me to a random street where there was a street full of food vendors. Similar to New York, there are street food carts all over the place, but they don’t usually sell meals only quick bites. The main foods that are served are called 떡볶이(Tteokbokki, spicy rice cake), 순대(sundae, blood sausage), 김밥 (gimbap, seaweed rice roll ),만두 (mandu, dumplings), 오뎅 (Fish cake), and many other delicious foods. I would love to describe each and every food, but I will only pick one to describe. 떡볶이 romanized as tteokbokki is a dish that primarily consists of spicy rice cakes. Rice cake is most popular for its chewiness. It is a one-of-a-kind food that I can’t compare with other food. Tteokbokki include fish cakes, egg, and sometimes ramen noodles with it. Its taste differs from person to person. Some people will make it spicy beyond anyone’s spice tolerance and others will lean more toward the sweeter side. This dish is a nice snack to have after school or late at night.
https://www.qustodio.com/en/blog/what-is-mukbang/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQfWxm9oQpk&ab_channel=JanandAnn
Comments
I was surprised when I first saw the term "Muckbang" in an English youtube video. I obviously thought that there should be an English term for Muckbang. All of the food reminds me of South Korea and makes me hungry. I will definitely eat all of them when I go back to Korea during the summer.
When I was in Korea, I was very amazed at all the food delivery services that they provided. People just have to click a couple of buttons or make a phone call on their bed or couch and have the food delivered right to their door. Often times people would argue there are delivery services in America too. However, I feel like the quality of the food that could be delivered in Korea has become a lot better than America. Some food where you would only find in a dine in restaurant could be delivered right to your home in Korea.
Interesting post Ethan! I stumbled across a video of an American living in Korea once, and she explained in her video that the restaurant delivered the food in plates that were meant to be washed and reused again. After the meal, she washed them, and placed the dishes and silverware outside of her apartment, and the delivery guy came back to pick them up. I thought that was so unique and environmentally-friendly! Not sure of more restaurants are adopting this practice in Korea, but it most definitely a unique one! Most if not all delivery experiences I had in America had the food in disposable containers, so the delivery certainly never came back to retrieve the plates.