Global Korean Food:

Healthy Food and National Image

 

Other than a source of cultural nationalism within a nation, as depicted in the last section, culinary nationalism also embodies outward expansion towards cultural superiority over the others, like what Kushner argued with the example that ramen was exported by the Japanese military government to China as a symbol of modernity and civilization during the World War Two (228). Similarly in Korea, the government and some Korean cultural entrepreneurs considered food as a cultural genre in which “national or ethnic traditions compete with and challenge one another” (Cwiertka 264; Kwang-ok Kim 18). Hence, in today’s promotion of Kimchi overseas, its objective to gain international recognition, to advance national image and to obtain national pride, should not be overlooked too. Global Hansik Campaign (한식 세계화 추진), an international project launched by the Korean government in 2008, officially announced its aim to make Korean cuisine “one of the five most popular ethnic cuisines” in the world by 2017. The Korean Food Foundation, a government funded organization in charge of the campaign, also stated its mission to be “making sure that Korean Food is recognized in major foreign countries” (“Our Mission” Official site of Korean Food Foundaiton, n.d.). Television advertisement, printed advertisements, Korean food fair, exhibitions are also promotional activities held by the foundation (Official Website of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea 12 May 2014). Amongst the Korean foods, Kimchi, which embodied strong culinary nationalism in Korean society, has been brought to the forefront of the campaign too. For instance in 2011, the government announced the plan for the establishment of the “Kimchi Industry Promotion Act” which aims to “accelerate international awareness of Kimchi” and to “promote overseas market entry and international standardization” (Official Website of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea 05 Sep. 2011).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction of the Korean Food Foundation displayed on its official webiste, stating the mission to gain foreign recognition of Korean food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Korean Food Fair held in Vietnam in 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A conference held by the Korean Foundation in L.A. on 08 Nov. 2013, Korean legislators and scholars are involved ; The Banner showned the topic of disucssion, which writes: Korean food enjoyed by people around the world, what is the straegy to promote Korean food globalization?

 

 

With a goal to enhance national image and pride through Kimchi, gaining recognition and popularity in foreign countries, especially in the United States, is of utmost importance of the campaign. Firstly, indicators of Kimchi's "success" are usually responses in Caucasian societies. For example, according to the Hyojŭng Cho, in the National Folklore Museum of Korea, the popularity of Kimchi is mostly represented by photos in which Caucasians enjoying the dish, and also a world map of Kimchi export (221). In addition, the Korean government particularly rebrand Kimchi to be a “well-being” food, matching the recent international awareness of healthy diet, in an attempt to gain better national image. Hence keywords like “well-being”, “slow food”, “balanced diet”, "Anti-obesity", “prevention of diseases”, “superior in preventing arteriosclerosis” with the support of “scientific researches” frequently appear in the publicity of Korean food promotion (Cwiertka 376; “Balance and Harmony” Official Website of The Korean Food Foundation n.d.; Yang, Kim, Shin and Cha 701). Though the reliability is still doubted, promotional phrases like “prevention of SARS” are also commonly referred when introducing Kimchi to foreigners (Official Website of Korea Tourism Organization n.d.).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, how foreign media and celebrities evaluate the healthiness of Kimchi also attracted much attention in Korea. The most known example took place in 2013, when the American First Lady Michelle Obama’s reposted a Kimchi recipe in Twitter. The tweet has led to widespread coverage across Korean media, in which Kimchi is thereafter hailed as “The First Lady’s Choice”. A Korean scholar even placed an advertisement of Kimchi on the New York Times with Michelle Obama's tweet, and later claimed that Kimchi can solve the problem of obesity of the American society (The Chosunilbo 12 Feb. 2013; Newis 19 May 2014).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An English TV programme introducing Kimchi, produced by Arrirang Culture. It begins by showing overeas media's coverage about Kimchi's healthiness (Arirang Culture 26 Sep. 2013).