Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bloopity Bloop]

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2009/10/18/eok.lustout.korea.seoul.food.cnn.html

So what do you think about this new govt. campaign to globalize Korean cuisine?

For those who didn't bother to watch the vid, there is the campaign and then there's the first lady's dream to make Korean food one of the world's top 5 cuisines.

These efforts are certainly admirable... but I don't think they'll get anywhere. Sometimes I feel like you have to have been raised on Korean food to enjoy it at the same level as Koreans. I can't think of many people back home that could stomach deok.

[oskinny1]

So not only is there no soap in restaurant bathrooms, but they stir all the food using their bare hands? I never want to go out to eat here again.

[Cerulean]

I thought chop chae was from China.

[dirving]

I suppose that Korean moms transmit their love via their hands, but could not a wooden spoon transmit love just as effectively?

[brento1138]

Japchae is OK, but it's a bit luke-warm when served... I don't think it will catch on... And sadly, as much as I like kimbap, my Canadian friends who visited me in Korea said kimbap is a cheap/lame version of sushi. I understand what they mean (they criticized the use of canned tuna, processed ham, egg-like substance... ) but I do eat the stuff and enjoy it.

But Galbi certainly can take off around the world... definitely all forms of Korean BBQ... dolsot bi bim bap is pretty darn good as a staple lunch... and I know Shabu Shabu isn't 100% Korean, but the Korean version of Shabu Shabu is a personal fave food of mine period... Korean style Shabu Shabu (the one with the red soup where u dip the beef in it) would easily take off anywhere... maybe a couple kinds of Korean soups could do well, like dwen-jang chigae.

And the big question? Kimchi. Hmm... most of my friends in Canada and family actually loved kimchi upon first taste, which shocked me, because I found it pretty bad the first time I tried it... but I've grown to quite like it. I still don't like the ultra-sour ultra-preserved stuff... I definitely go for the fresh kimchi more often.

As for junk food, anyone try Hodduks yet? Those would be popular in Canada during winter for sure...

But yeah... tough to say if Korean will take the world by storm. But I do honestly think Korean food can be absolutely amazing... depends alot on the dish, how it is served, and if it is home-made or cheap=restaurant-made...

[Fishead soup]

They always choose the wrong foods to push internationaly. Jeop Chai is Ok in it's own way. Unfortunatly Pad Thai can easily give it a knock out punch in the first round. They should really posh Sam gyup sal, or Pork Kalbi ribs, Dok Kalbi, or Pork Spine and Potatoe stew.

[caniff]

[oldfatfarang]

[prideofidaho]

Cooking korean food is all about knife skills. Seems like it would be a slow and dangerous task for someone like myself who routinely chops off their fingertips.

[egrog1717]

I think what we're all forgetting here is that Kimchi cures E.Coli and any other form of "mother's love" that can be transmitted via poor handwashing

[Bloopity Bloop]

The worst experience with "hand-made" food here in Korea has to have been at a local restaurant in my officetel.

I ordered sujebee and watched as she took my money and then immediately proceeded to work on the dough. If you're unfamiliar with sujebee, it's bits of dough thrown into a broth. I sat in horror as she started scraping the last bits of dough from her hands with her nails and flinging them into the pot. She even looked back and me and smiled while she was doing it--that evil, evil smile *shivers*

Even though I know all the germs were probably boiled to hell, I couldn't stop thinking that I was ingesting whatever dirt/grime was under her fingernails.

[jdog2050]

[Fox]

If Korea really wants to push their cuisine, I think their best tool would be their soups. Korean soups are varied and delicious, and soup is something that many people don't think of when they think of Asian food, giving Korea a potential niche in the minds of consumers. Soups like 삼계탕 and 갈비탕 have ingredients most Westerners would find natural enough, which provides both an initial draw and assures that when you eat Korean as a group, even the picky eaters will find something to like. The slightly more exotic soups like the ones using 김치찌개 or 된장찌개 as a base give more adventurous eaters options. It's a good setup.

[Pa Jan Jo A Hamnida]

It's all about the Pa Jan homies.

[prideofidaho]