Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stan Rogers]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/03/26/2014032601897.html

[CentralCali]

Should I thank you now or later for the malware that automatically downloads when clicking on that link?

[le-paul]

I think its more of a generation of kids with different tastes - literally.

The molecular construction of the fatty, salty type foods ('eating crap' is the term my grandmother would use) that a lot of kids eat these days, is very different from the sour, acidic and more natural design of fermented cabbage with more natural ingredients.
The fact is, once people get a taste for junk, its easily more addictive.

In the past it was probably taboo to say you didnt like kimchi. You can still see evidence of that today when foreigners mention 'kimchi smell' - koreans are still very offended by that as it is a source of identity for them.

Also, I think people are given this 'side-dish' so frequently, it may be very rare for people to not like it. It is statistically, almost biologically impossible to dislike something once your body has become that accustomed to it. So id say I doubt any kids dont like it unless their parents and school never made them eat it.
In Japan (I read somewhere) too for example, kids are made daily to eat traditional, Japanese food. The idea is that they will become accustomed (brainwashed) to it an therefore, be more healthy.

I think the article is looking for an excuse as to why kids are eating it less, Id say. Instead of looking at science (ie biology and social issues) as usual, the authors have used 'pseudo bollock-science' and come up with;

'Kids don't like kimchi anymore - it must be the Chinese's fault - inferior kimchi! (palm, forehead, slap).

[cdninkorea]

What an idiotic title. Kimchi is "in crisis"?! You'd have to have a very sheltered life to think that this qualifies as a crisis.

[Stain]

Kimchi is not in a crisis as long as there is soju. The kids obviously can't drink it yet so they haven't an appreciation for it.

[happiness]

As someone who was here in the 90s when youngsters ate alot more Korean food, and now when they dont.

One of my kids said it perfectly (he's a very cool litlle guy too): I guess we have to like it, its our national food.

That was very clever. That said, all I have to do is show pictures of my fave foods in the west, and noone can deny.

Its a generational thing that motivated by exposure to the West, not an ideal of Nationalism through food.

That said, now its up to them to find their own identities and national identity. Its still Kimchi and Hanbok.

[edwardcatflap]

It's one of these articles where the fact that a Western newspaper has published something about Korea is obviously more newsworthy than the actual story.

[cdninkorea]

Did anyone call it a "crisis" when people stopped wearing hanbok? Or living in hanoak? Or listening to trot?

Now, obviously kimchi has health benefits. But the amount you have to eat for those health benefits is probably not that high (you don't have to eat broccoli, for example, three times a day to get the health benefits from it.

[yodanole]

No matter what kids might say about kimchi, it is more of an adult taste when it comes to actually putting it in your mouth. Any kind of vegetable isn't going to be likely to bring down the house at the primary school gala. Anywhere.

[Squire]

I wonder if adults even like it. When our school eats out the kimchi often doesn't get touched, and the same at lunch times

[Steelrails]

[byrddogs]

It's not student related, as the teachers eat in a different area from the students in my school.

I'm a kimchi fan. We had by far and away the most appetizing, fresh kimchi that my lunchroom has offered up in my 3 years there today. It reminded me of the homemade tupperwares of the stuff that one of the science teachers in my old middle school in the ROK used to give me yearly. The other NETs in my department aren't fans of it ever, so it was no surprise that they didn't share my enthusiasm. What I did find odd was when I glanced around at the K teacher's metal departmental slabs containing food in my vicinity they had exponentially smaller portions (almost non-existent) of the stuff. Heaping mounds of rice, yet barely any kimchi. Hopefully that just means more of the good stuff for me for the rest of the week.

[EZE]

At my previous school, in Anyang, all of the students in my kindergarten class said their favorite food is kimchi.

Kimchi is actually one of the things that has made the past year or so great for me. I've been really fortunate to be living in Korea since I had two surgeries (vasectomy and appendectomy) in the past 13 months and didn't have to deal with the USA's ridiculous health care system. Plus, kimchi helps replenish good bacteria that antibiotics kill off. I just happened to be in the right country at the right time. I live a charmed life.