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chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
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 Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:24 pm Post subject: Why do Koreans attribute a special food to each city? |
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Why does every city in Korea have a special food? It doesn't make logical sense to me, nor has it ever panned out in actuality (ie I just traveled to 6 different cities with the unlimited train pass this week and none of the food was any better than anywhere else).
Even seemingly rational people like my girlfriend believe this idea that, for example, Gyeongju can make better bread. Leaving aside the fact that bread is not made by cities themselves but by individual bakers, and the taste of the bread would be dependent on the baker who made the bread, they would have to provide a reason why this same delicious bread could not be made in Seoul or Busan. From what I understand, inhabitants of Gyeongju do not possess a magical flour that makes their bread taste better. And if they did, they would sell it to bakeries in Seoul as well.
Is it the magical skill of the inhabitants of those cities? Do Jeonju born and raised fingers mix a better bibimbap? Then why couldn't a person from Jeonju move to Seoul and make the same bibimbap? Or why couldn't a person in Seoul follow the same recipe as a person from Jeonju?
Now, to a certain extent there are foods back home that vary with the city. For example, it's a little bit hard to get a Chicago deep dish style pizza outside of the East, depending on your town. But Korean cities are only 20km apart from eachother and all have the same culture and same stores and same ingredients. People in Ulsan don't use a different kind of cheese compared to people in Busan.
So am I crazy or is this overplayed in Korean culture? |
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highstreet
Joined: 13 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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Busan is only 20km from Seoul?
They do this in pretty much every developed country. Not sure why you care so much. |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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Landros
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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it is just that in these cities they specialize in a food. like if you go to pusan eat raw fish. you can get it anywhere but go there and there is tones of it and fresh. or bibinbab at jeonju. there are just a bunch of restaurants there that only make it. the dish is not the same in every restaurant. like buy peaches where they grow them. I guess it is just something special to do when you go to one place like hodu (?) in cheonan.
lol I like to get kal gook soo only in myungdon. lol.
and eat duck near ori station. this is really funny now that you mention it. I didn't notice it myself. I am so Korean in that regard. |
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rumdiary
Joined: 05 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Like the other poster said, this isn't just a Korean thing. I'm sure many years ago the difference between the jimdak in seoul and andong was huge, but now there isn't much difference unless you have been eating it your entire life and are able to taste the slight nuances. The dukgalbi in chuncheon is still a huge step up from the rest of korea though. |
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Jake_Kim
Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Philly Cheesesteak.
Is it physically impossible to make the same food outside Philadelphia? Why must this cuisine always be affiliated with a particular city in the United States? |
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Girlygirl
Joined: 31 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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| I think it's a gimmick to attract tourists. |
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chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Jake_Kim wrote: |
Philly Cheesesteak.
Is it physically impossible to make the same food outside Philadelphia? Why must this cuisine always be affiliated with a particular city in the United States? |
So I suppose these replies mean that this method of thinking is completely wrong, but since some people do it in the US as well I shouldn't mention it?
From what I understand, Philly Cheesesteaks are named after the city that invented them. However, not many Westerners claim that they're actually better in Philadelphia specifically (some may though). Just like we can get good New York style fries anywhere. In the case of most (maybe not all) North Americans, we seem to think that the taste of the food is more dependent on the quality of the specific chef/restaurant rather than the city it is made (which makes logical sense).
In fact, I'm from the city of Nanaimo where the Nanaimo Bar was created and I readily admit the best Nanaimo Bar I've ever tasted was made in Itaewon at the Tartine Bakery and Cafe. That is because of the individual chef, not because of the city. |
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chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Landros wrote: |
| it is just that in these cities they specialize in a food. like if you go to pusan eat raw fish. you can get it anywhere but go there and there is tones of it and fresh. |
There is tonnes of fresh and raw fish in every coastal city in Korea. The fish at the Noryangjin fish market in Seoul come from the same ocean as the fish from the market in Busan. All of those huge crabs still come from Alaska. I live in the mountains in the center of Korea and next door to my house is a sashimi place with live fish floating around in tanks, since Korea is a tiny peninsula with no town farther than 2 hours from the sea.
The Kalguksoo thing is interesting as well. Isn't it Insadong that is famous for it? I mean they all use the same wheat noodles from wheat grown in Canada and the US. They probably all buy it at the same E-mart and use the same recipe. The only possible difference could be the freshness of the clams, which is dependent on how the individual store is run. |
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whiteshoes
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Don't forget that Korea has been a country for thousands of years. Over time, a place will have a specialty. What's the harm in that? |
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chungbukdo
Joined: 22 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| whiteshoes wrote: |
| Don't forget that Korea has been a country for thousands of years. Over time, a place will have a specialty. What's the harm in that? |
No harm in that, I'm disputing the idea that there are actual specialties in these cities because a lot of them make no sense (like Gyeongju bread).
Keep in mind that a lot of these foods that are claimed as specialties couldn't even be eaten in Korea until about 30-40 years ago when the people stopped starving and farming dirt. Nobody could afford wheat in the Joseon dynasty and it was still at a premium under colonial Japan. Koreans didn't get much wheat until after the Korean war, so there goes the kalguksoo and bread specialty cities. Just seems like some kind of tourist trap marketing gimmick written all over it.
What seems more likely is that a few people in 1990 or so decided they wanted to push the idea of Gyeongju bread, and knew that if you repeated something to Koreans enough times they would take it as truth. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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| chungbukdo wrote: |
What seems more likely is that a few people in 1990 or so decided they wanted to push the idea of Gyeongju bread, and knew that if you repeated something to Koreans enough times they would take it as truth. |
Since you seem focused on Gyeongju bread as your main example, here you go.
| Quote: |
Gyeongju bread, also sometimes called Hwangnam bread (named after the district of its origin), is a local specialty of Gyeongju City, South Korea. It is a small pastry with a filling of red bean paste. Gyeongju bread was first baked in 1939 at a bakery in Hwangnam-dong in central Gyeongju. It has since become popular across the country and is produced by several different companies, all based in Gyeongju. It is sold at many locations in the city, and also at specialized stores around the country.[1][2]
Gyeongju bread is made from a mixture of eggs and wheat flour, with the red bean filling being almost 70% of the pastry. A chrysanthemum would be traditionally imprinted on the top.[2]Gyeongju bread has been designated as an "outstanding regional specialty" (지역명품) by the Korean government. |
They've been making it there and virtually only there for over 70 years. It's distinctive. Look into other local specialties and you'll probably find similar stories. |
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Jake_Kim
Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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| chungbukdo wrote: |
| In fact, I'm from the city of Nanaimo where the Nanaimo Bar was created and I readily admit the best Nanaimo Bar I've ever tasted was made in Itaewon at the Tartine Bakery and Cafe. That is because of the individual chef, not because of the city. |
So you tasted a nice 'Nanaimo Bar' in Itaewon. Why is it not called Itaewon Bar or Tartine Bar then? Oh wait, this bar was never originated from Itaewon no matter how good it is made in Itaewon.
Now, take Jeonju Bibimbap for example. Does this name imply we will find no Bibimbap restaurant anywhere else? Hell no. But many restaurants in Seoul or some place else stick to the title 'Jeonju Bibimbap' for the sake of marketing which relies on perceived authenticity. The chef might not have come from Jeonju or its neighborhood in the first place, even though he/she does it better than those in Jeonju.
Should this Bibimbap be called 'Seoul Bibimbap' from now on because a darn good chef of Bibimbap happens to operate in Seoul? If he/she moves to Busan, then it's gonna be Busan Bibimbap, then. Right?
Then, why the 'perceived authenticity'? Let's put it this way: you want to learn how to cook authentic Italian food from a good authority. Do you go to Germany? |
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johnnyrook
Joined: 08 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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It's not just the regional thing they play up.
My korean friends are always telling me about this or that famous restaurant that I must try, but I've never been to one of these that has impressed me more than any other miscellanous korean restaurant or foodcourt I've wandered into serving the same food.
Just last weekend I went to Busan with my gf and a few other korean friends, one a Busan native. Another of the companions had never been to Busan before, so though a weekend of eating just Korean food doesn't really appeal to me I didn't kick up any complaints as the local dragged us from one supposedly famous restaurant to the next so her friend could experience the best of Busan cuisine.
The second morning there, we went to a restaurant serving something that I can't recall the name of, well, it wasn't galkooksoo but it was really quite similar... heck, ok, it was basically galkooksoo, and it was just as bland and watery as galkooksoo normally is.
Anyway, later in the day, as lunch drew near, my friend guided us towards another one of her favourite, apparently well-renowned, restaurants. I hadn't gotten any details about what to expect so when we arrived I was shocked to discover it was galkooksoo! I was like "WTF!! We had this for breakfast!" My travel companions were like "No, that wasn't galkooksoo, it was (blah-blah-blah)." The key difference, apparently, being that the earlier food we'd had was made with rice, and galkooksoo is a noodle dish. Tasted exactly the same to me, though. |
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Jake_Kim
Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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| chungbukdo wrote: |
| Keep in mind that a lot of these foods that are claimed as specialties couldn't even be eaten in Korea until about 30-40 years ago when the people stopped starving and farming dirt. Nobody could afford wheat in the Joseon dynasty and it was still at a premium under colonial Japan. |
Who says it has to be available to the entire population to become a local specialty? Even during the darkest era of Korean history, there were always a handful of privileged families here and there to consume some of everything, and a handful of families here and there that have inherited old recipes. 'Nobody could afford this and that in Joseon Dynasty'? How about the royal family and his ministers? Do you think they starved as well? |
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