Posted on 05/02/2009 7:51:13 PM PDT by nickcarraway
There are many Asian nations that have contributed to one part or another of the world vocabulary. There are the "Manila envelope," the "Chinese fire drill," the "Japanese maple," the "Indian paper," and so on.
Is there such a contribution that Korea can claim? What would be something that the world can connect to Korea? Is there anything that can be considered Korea's unique contribution to the world?
Those who are familiar with Korea would be almost unanimous in mentioning that unique Korean concoction called "Kimchi." In their minds, Kimchi and Korea are inseparable.
In many ways, Kimchi is Korea, both in the dietary sense and in the metaphorical sense. Sociologically speaking, Kimchi is everything Korea is, and vice versa, as Korea's social character can be defined by it easily and accurately. Kimchi is Korea's soul, self-image, and identifier.
Kimchi and Korea are a match made in Heaven. They are so intricately intertwined that one cannot legitimately exist without the other. Both are highly original in quality, odd and strange in substance and strong and indelible in aftertaste.
Korea without Kimchi is like a flock without its shepherd, a Catholic congregation without its priest, soldiers without their commander, children without their parents or guardians, or a bee colony without its queen bee.
Kimchi without Korea as its home, on the other hand, is like a migratory flock of birds without their homing device, completely lost and misplaced, as we cannot imagine any other culture in the world that would be so perfectly fit for Kimchi as Korea is.
Kimchi is Korea's culinary temple, its shroud of mystery and oracle, and all that is necessary and logical in Korean life. A Korean meal without Kimchi is like the arctic without its icecaps, Mt. Everest without its heigh and the Sahara without its sand. In other words, it makes all things right in Korea.
Separating Kimchi from Korea is like taking leather away from the cobbler, the voice from the singer, water from the stream or waves from the ocean. For a Korean, to be deprived of Kimchi is almost as traumatic as Adam and Eve to be kicked out of the Garden of Eden.
What is this concoction called Kimchi that has such a powerful hold over Korea and its spiritual imagination, and by which the world knows about Korea?
Kimchi is definitely an acquired taste. Its whole makeup ― visual, olfactory, taste ― is so odd and alien to visitors here that a foreigner's love for Korea is often determined by whether he can handle this perniciously smelling but incredibly addictive dish that is ubiquitous on all Korean food tables.
Kimchi is mainly made up of Chinese cabbage fermented with all sorts of spices, among them a good portion of hot peppers, garlic, fish juice and ginger, depending on each household's formula and tradition. Nutritionally speaking, that Kimchi is good for one's health is undisputed. Koreans are so dependent on this dish that no Korean considers his meal complete unless Kimchi is also served.
Let's admit it: Kimchi is one of the greatest wonders of the culinary world. Once addicted to it, no one can escape its orbit. Long-term foreign residents of Korea normally measure their degree of "Koreanization" by it.
A novice finds it revolting; an intermediate resident finds it interesting, something to try out; a successful transplant is aroused to a great appetite whenever he smells Kimchi. Naturally, for most visitors to Korea, its smell, taste, and texture require considerable understanding of anthropology and sociology in order to tolerate.
To most foreigners, Kimchi is just too spicy, too pungent, and too hot, almost like Korean culture itself, to make it a routine part of their daily menu. Like caviar, Kimchi is definitely an acquired taste.
But unfortunately for Kimchi and for Korea, Kimchi is not considered a high-image culinary experience. Caviar is connected to the image of high living, champagne and exotic romance, even though it's definitely an acquired taste. We think about adventures, faraway vacations and the sweet smell of success when we think about caviar. As for Kimchi, romance is the last thing we associate with it. Even in most Korean movies, lovers never eat Kimchi for dinner if kissing and romancing is to follow their dinner scene. For romance afterward, the movie lovers eat at a Western-style restaurant.
Unlike caviar, Kimchi has not attained its world fame yet, and I am not sure if it ever will. The trouble is not necessarily with Kimchi itself; it is with Korean cuisine. Unlike Chinese, Thai or Japanese cuisines, Korean food is still too spicy, too pungent and too hot to be favored on the world stage.
To be successful on the world stage, cuisine requires a certain level of bland superficiality that the average human taste bud can readily accept. Chinese food, Thai dishes, and Japanese sushi have the virtue of this bland superficiality. The only time Kimchi became popular among the Chinese, for example, was when the severe acute deficiency syndrome (SARS) epidemic was threatening; the Chinese ate it as a medicine to repel the syndrome.
Korean cuisine, in particular Korean Kimchi, is very much like Korean people or Korean culture: First we are repelled by its offensiveness, but later become captivated by its addictive quality that won't leave you alone once you truly acquire the taste. For Koreans who leave Korea and Korean culture, Kimchi is the last thing that departs them in their de-Koreanization process.
For an average Korean, it takes almost a heroic effort and epic struggle, like a drug addict who wants to kick the habit, to shake off the Kimchi-addiction if he wishes to escape the Korean orbit. Kimchi is the ultimate litmus test for those who come to Korea as well as for those who leave Korea: Adjusting to it is a sign of successful Koreanization; being able to leave it a sign of complete de-Koreanization.
Korea is known throughout the world for its technological wonders. Kimchi, a strange but powerful native product of Korea, wants to share that fame.
The writer can be reached at jonhuer@hotmail.com. The opinions expressed and the observations described in these articles are strictly the writer's own and do not represent any official position of the University of Maryland University College or the USFK.
Ping
Kimchi is available at Wal-Mart now. I don’t care for it but those who do are welcome to it. :-)
"We be deep in Kimchi."
“The trouble is not necessarily with Kimchi itself; it is with Korean cuisine. Unlike Chinese, Thai or Japanese cuisines, Korean food is still too spicy, too pungent and too hot to be favored on the world stage.”
I’m not sure I entirely agree with that. There are a number of Korean foods that aren’t particularly spicy/pungent, and I can tell you from experience there are a number of Chinese and Thai dishes that (for those reasons and others) will never catch on beyond their local province.
IMHO, the dish to get people interested in Korean cuisine is not Kimchi, but Bulgogi. That has to be one of the best beef dishes on the planet. *drools*
I like a pretty wide variety of foods, but I can’t stomach kim chee.
ping.
Indian paper?
Having recently rented space to a WONDERFUL, **BRAVE** Korean woman who opened a Korean restaurant in the equivalent of Mayberry RFD, I've sampled and fallen in love with MANY awesome Korean dishes...sadly, kimchi isn't one of them.
(Now, stick some kolbi, deaji bulgogi, gimbop or spicy ramen soup in front of me and I will purr like a kitten....)
I have spent a lot of time in ROK and I absolutely love the stuff. However, if one person in an arena seating 20,000 people has eaten the stuff - the other 19,999 know it!
Very true. The smell oozes from your pores.
if one person in an arena seating 20,000 people has eaten the stuff - the other 19,999 know it!
LOL = Oh BELIEVE me, I KNOW if Yong has slipped kimchi into my husband, I’m on the couch for the night....
Bulgogi is pretty good, I like kalbi as well. My favorite is kimbob though. I never could get used to kimchi, but I haven’t tried every kind. There is some sweeter types of kimchi that aren’t too bad.
We also used ‘kimchi rig” for jury rig.
Cucumber kimchi is good, and not as offensive.
Mogo kimchi, mashi sao. (Eat kimchi, it’s delicious)
But I got to agree with whoever touted bulgogi as a Korean dish to share with others. I love bulgogi and whatever it's pork equivalent is.
(I am also a 2ID vet)
I like kimchi, as well as a lot of other Korean food. I spent four months in Korea about 20 years ago and have been a fan ever since.
Rice! I remember eating rice and kimchi as part of every meal, every day, for four months! I liked it! And on the low-fat Korean diet, I lost 15 pounds without even trying.
Also, Korea being a peninsula, you eat everything possible that can come out of the sea, squid tentacles, seaweed, you name it.
Of course the strangest thing I ate over there (one time) was . . . dog! Not bad--not good, but not bad either.
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