Korean Job Discussion Forums

[shawner88]

I can remember going to Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and of course Chinese restaurants in the states but I never once tried a Korean restaurant until after I lived here. Why is this? Why has Korean food not caught on like food from other Asian cultures? While trying things like Kimchi chigae might be hard for some to swallow (pun!), there are certainly many Korean foods Americans would love such as Kalbi, sam gae tang, galbi tang, even mandu, etc...

I have a few reasons why Korean food hasn't caught on:

1. Americans in their infinite ignorance associate Koreans with eating dog. That means every food they eat must contain dog meat.


2. Korea is a poor 3rd world country, right? That means their food must be dirty and taste like crap? But what about Thailand and Vietnam?


Personally I think the translation of Korean food into English is one of the biggest hindrances. How can you explain Kimchi? "Fermented cabbage mixed in spicy red pepper sauce." Or dwen jang chigae: bean paste stew with tofu? bulgogi? "fire beef?" etc. Have you ever tried to explain to your friend back home what exactly you are eating...it's hard. Some - most of the foods just don't translate and it's a shame Americans are missing out on some of the best foods in the world.

[ryleeys]

I ate Korean food at least once a month in the US the last three years I was in college...

Korean restaurants are all over many parts of the DC area.

[shawner88]

[ryleeys]

Korean food (at least what I had) in America hasn't been "bastardized" quite as much as Chinese food. It still seems to be pretty true to its roots

This is good as when I go back to America in 6 months, I will be eating Korean food on a regular basis.

Of course, if I resurrect "Pretty Woman" and find the perfect Korean hooker with the heart of gold, I can be Richard Gere and rescue her... then she can cook me all the jap chae I want.




(That's a joke by the way)

[wylde]

[cacheSurfer]

i only had korean food once before i came here. and that was because my friend from college was korean and he cooked some stuff for us.

i think a korean restaurants would do good in the states, but they would have to be slightly modified.

-better service
-more selection

[little mixed girl]

.....

[Gwangjuboy]

[shawner88]

[desultude]

Its largely location. My daughter lives in Champaign-Urbana Illinois, and there are a lot of Korean restaurants, even though it is a small town- lots of Korean students at the University of Ill. She makes a mean bulgogi. But shes a great cook anyway- she learned from the best.

[Zyzyfer]

Location + exposure.

Most people in my area are more familiar with Japan. It's easy to get sushi rolls and I even saw some yubuchobap mixed in with the sushi once. Korea is an afterthought, and it takes some forcible effort to get someone to go to a Korean restaurant.

Many of the Korean restaurants in my area also tend to front up as Japanese restaurants. Of course, Koreans can make a mean bit of Japanese food that tastes authentic, but the Japanese take on Korean food is awful. So this makes sense.

There's only a small, small community of Koreans in my hometown, so the restaurants are rare, and people don't really know much about how Korean food is; they think it's probably going to be like Chinese and Japanese food or something.

Also, as LMG said, Korean food is expensive as HELL over here. I got kimchijigae, dakdoritang, and soju and it came up to about $50!

[buddy bradley]

Here's my theory: Chinese, Thai, Italian, German, American, Greek, Swiss, Mexican - they're all better foods.

[helly]

Similar to some earlier responses but thought I'd weigh in as 1) just was discussing this yesterday and 2) I'm back in the states now.

1. Location/Insularity: the Korean communities where I live tend to lump themselves into a few locations, none of which are central to the city/urban area. It takes a trip to get there, rather than having walk-by exposure. Having more walk-by exposure in populated areas could assist in building top-of-mind awareness of the food. Right now, people know Korean food and enjoy Korean food but don't eat it frequently because it's not just there on main street.

2. Customer focus : Korean businesses, restaraunts included, focus on Koreans. (Could be one of the reasons why the locate businesses almost exclusively in Korean communities). Quality/level of service is similar to what I experienced in Korea (rushed, no checking back on quality, brash). Also, no explanation of different types of food (What would you recommend) because a) limited English b) most customers are Korean so no need and c) do not recognize the value in this. Thus, most non-Koreans who eat Korean food only recognize a small portion of what is available.

3. Price, but its not that bad. I've spent more in a nice Italian restuarant. It does seem outrageous when compared to Korea but most non-Korean customers there (or potential customers) don't have that experience to compare it to.

4. The Japan factor : Ever heard of Korean spaghetti? (jajjang myun)Korean food is not recognizable. Rather than try to develop an understanding of it, its easier to say "Korean teriyaki." This is fine for short run revenue but doesn't do anything to help establish the recognition of Korean food as a legitimate international cuisine, which would do much more for future growth of the food. Many of these restaurants do serve Japanese food or some blend of Japanese/Korean as well because Japanese food will bring people in while Korean on its own won't.

Thats my two-cents. Recommendations are reserved for the Korean National Tourist Organization, Agricultural Development Ministry or anyone else who wants to hire me to increase awareness of Korean food in the US.

[buddy bradley]

Again - good pizza over bulgogi?

Give me the Italian slop any day.

[Bulsajo]

Interesting related note: I've been seeing ads at bus stops around town- one of the big tuna companies (which one escapes me right now) is coming out with red pepper added to their canned tuna. Korean-related? Dunno.