Conclusion

All in all, by witnessing the rebranding and promotion of traditional food culture, it is clear that instead of a single all-embracing movement bringing homogenous culture, the effect of globalization on Korean food culture has brought about a competition between global modernity and local nationalism (Collins 153). More prevalent the foreign food and dining cultures in Korea, more active the Korean government in strengthening her national identity through traditional food like Kimchi, in an attempt to counteract globalization through globalizing national cultures. However, globalizing a national food culture itself embodies the paradox between suiting the world market and stressing national identity. Thus the international advertisements inevitably mixed with nationalistic tone, which consequently made foreign audiences find them difficult to appreciate. While in China, since the netizens and media have long been irrational hostile to Korean culture due to the accumulated Sino-Korean cultural war, the move of promoting the Koreaness of Kimchi did only add fuel to the hostility.