Edited by Kwang Ok Kim<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A food connoisseur whose job allows him to travel abroad frequently, Mr. Lee telephoned an Indian restaurant near a university in Seoul to make a reservation for dinner with a group of colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
He had dined there once previously, and found the place satisfactory. The restaurant was charmingly decorated with an Indian theme, the food was delicious, and the manager and staff appeared to be Indian. Everything was in line with his expectation of what a proper ethnic restaurant should be: a place where one can dine on authentic ethnic food as part of a cultural experience. However, as soon as he began conversing with the manager on the phone, he thought something was wrong. Instead of the Indian manager he met on his previous visit to the restaurant, a \u201cKorean\u201d man identified himself as the manager. Mr. Lee was extremely disappointed, thinking that the management of the restaurant has changed. He decided to confirm: \u201cI think I met an Indian manager the other time. Has there been a change?\u201d The person on the line replied, \u201cOh, I am that manager. I am an Indian myself. You must have met me!\u201d As he was eagerly clarifying the situation, this Korean increasingly gained a distinctively Indian accent. The reservation was made, and when the group arrived at the restaurant, they found that the manager was a native of India with a high level of proficiency in Korean. This anecdote illustrates the constructive processes of the meanings and roles of ethnic food restaurants in today\u2019s Korean society. It shows the dynamic negotiations and compromises engaged in by Koreans and the operators of ethnic food restaurants. Together they define what ethnic food restaurants are supposed to be in Korean society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This chapter is based on anthropological fieldwork on the\nmeanings and positions of ethnic food restaurants in contemporary Korean\nsociety. It represents an attempt to understand how Koreans experience the\nprocess of globalization by focusing on ethnic food. When we use food culture\nas the lens through which to observe the process of globalization, we can find\nconcrete and useful illustrations of several key concepts in the discourse on\nglobalization: homogenization (standardization), heterogenization (localization\nor fragmentation), and hybridization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consumption of ethnic food is not only an expression of\nidentities by the diverse ethnicities residing in Korea, but it is also a way\nfor Koreans to construct their identities through consuming exotic food and the\naccompanying culinary culture. In this chapter, interviews were given and\nobservations were made in various contexts where ethnic food is consumed in\nKorean society. Most of this took place in Seoul, but some fieldwork was also\ncarried out in Ansan, a city about one hour\u2019s drive from Seoul, where a\ndistinctive community of multiethnic immigrants is located. Both restaurateurs\nand consumers were interviewed, along with specialists in food production and\nconsumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethnic Food and Ethnic Food Restaurants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethnic food, if one defines it as a nondominant food practice, has been part of human history as long as people have been moving to locations remote from their birthplaces. Ethnic food has enriched local food cultures by introducing new ingredients and recipes. While ethnic food increases variety in local food culture, a form of standardization (homogenization) occurs when a cuisine is introduced as ethnic food to other cultures. For example, the cuisine of the Chinese, whose variety and depth of culinary sophistication are almost limitless, has been more or less standardized when it is served for American consumers. Except for exclusive upscale restaurants and, of course, restaurants catering to the Chinese immigrant population, only a limited number of dishes became widely available in the ubiquitous Chinese take-out restaurants in the United States. These include various combinations of stir-fried meat, seafood, and\/or vegetables, fried noodles or rice, fried meat or seafood in egg batter, spring rolls, and dumplings. One could expect practically the same array of Chinese food whether in California, New York, or Minnesota. These processes of homogenization and standardization can also be found in the cases of Mexican and Thai restaurants in the United States. In other words, there is great variety among diverse ethnic cuisines, but within the individual cuisines, one can find a high degree of similarity from restaurant to restaurant within particular contexts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, ethnic food has received more attention in\nthe context of globalization as people became more alert to the possibility\nthat the domination of Western culture will further accelerate. Valuing the\ndiversity of local traditions also enhances people\u2019s appreciation of ethnic\nfood. Malcolm Waters (2001) argued that one of the results of the globalization\nis the realization that all ethnic identities are legitimate. These identities\ninclude those without nation\/state status. The increase of ethnic-food\nrestaurants has been most notable in Western societies. Roland Robertson (1995)\ncalled this a \u201cuniversalization of particularism,\u201d meaning that various kinds\nof ethnic cuisines have become popular in many different locations of the\nworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethnic Food Restaurants in Korea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The production and consumption of ethnic food in Korea has a\nclose relationship with class status. Food in general is an important marker\nfor \u201cdistinction\u201d (Bourdieu 1984), and Jack Goody (1982) also attempted to\nanalyze the relationship between cuisine and class in historical processes.\nConsumption of food carries powerful meanings because food becomes a part of\none\u2019s physical self. Th e close relationship between food and identity is\nclearly shown in the examples of Jewish dietary rules and the avoidance of beef\namong observant Hindus. Those food-related rules are not simply dietary rules\nbut strong components of who they are and who they are not. Arjun Appadurai\n(1988) argued that a newly created \u201cmiddle-class Indian cuisine\u201d significantly\ncontributed to the construction of a new collective identity in India after\nindependence from the British colonial rule. The publication of cookbooks to\nestablish and standardize the new national cuisine was pivotal in this process.\nEmiko Ohnuki-Tierney (1993) conducted a historical study on the central\nposition of rice in defining Japanese national identity. Kyung-Koo Han (2000)\nand Yeong-ha Ju (2000) have both argued that kimchi might be the Korean equivalent\nof a defining food like rice for Japan. Eun Kyung Park (1994) examined how\nChinese residents in Korea have adapted Chinese cuisine to suit their\ncustomers\u2019 palates and in the process established an overseas Chinese identity\nwithin Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Expectations and Adaptive Strategies in Ethnic Food\nRestaurants<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethnic food restaurants in Korea satisfy the expectation for\nexoticism while still remaining within the comfort zone of such expectations.\nIt is a guarded and safe form of exotic experience, to a certain degree\ncustom-made for Koreans. These characteristics are expressed in the interior\ndecoration, the selection of menus, and the modification of original recipes to\ncater to the palates of average Korean customers. In this way, ethnic\nrestaurants dutifully carry out their role, akin to the object of \u201ctourist\ngaze\u201d (Urry 2002). Th e experience that Korean customers have is that of a\ndistinctively unusual yet comfortable form of exoticism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the majority of Indian restaurants in Korea are operated\nby Nepalese immigrants\u2014not Indians\u2014Nepalese owners strongly argue that there is\nin fact no significant difference between Indian and Nepalese cuisine. The\nNepalese restaurant operators argue that they can provide authentic Indian\ncuisine without much difficulty. To support this argument, they\nenthusiastically emphasized that the relationship between the Indians and the\nNepalese has always been amicable. Otherwise, they asked, how could the\nNepalese have survived when they are surrounded by India in all directions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The restaurateurs I interviewed were obviously proud of\ntheir food. For example, the owners of Indian restaurants maintained that\nIndian food is the healthiest cuisine. As evidence of this, restaurateurs\nmention that their signature dish, tandoori chicken, is put into an oven after\nremoving all the fatty skin, their dishes use a plethora of vegetables and\nfruits, and many ingredients of Indian food, such as turmeric, have medicinal\nqualities. But even with this pride that they have in their original recipes\nand ingredients, they are ready to adjust their recipes to attract more Korean\ncustomers. In this way, the restaurateurs are negotiating the notions of\nauthenticity with their customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The managers of Delhi Indian Restaurant in two locations\ntold me that they are preparing their dishes sweeter than the versions popular\nin India because they believe that Koreans nowadays like their food sweet. They\nmake their curries and a variety of nan bread sweeter by adding sugar or honey.\nHowever, some diners already familiar with Indian food strongly dislike these\nadditions, and complain that the sweetness and Indian spices simply do not\nharmonize on the palate. In this way, efforts to please one group of customers\nmay alienate others due to the different backgrounds and expectations of\ncustomer groups. An attempt to modify the original may seriously harm the\nexpected authenticity of the cuisine and restaurant, which can in turn\nnegatively affect the establishment\u2019s appeal for some customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Popularity of Ethnic Food in Korea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several factors that have contributed to the\npopularity of ethnic food restaurants in Korean society. Most importantly,\nKoreans have become much more globalized in recent years. They are more\ninformed about other cultures, and more willing to experiment with the less\nfamiliar. An increasing number of Koreans have traveled abroad and want to\nexperience global cultural diversity in Korea as well. The increased\navailability of information on food and restaurants, and particularly the\nsharing of knowledge via websites on cuisine or tourism (for example,\nmenupan.com or wingspoon.naver.com), have also allowed Koreans to experience\nexotic cuisines without putting in too much time and effort. Koreans have been\ndining out more frequently with increasing economic affluence and more women\nworking outside the home. As one possible destination for such exploratory\nculinary excursions, ethnic restaurants have gained popularity. The ethnic\nrestaurant business really started to take off after the 1988 Seoul Olympics,\nwhen Koreans began to seriously look outside their society and sought a global\nidentity. Before this, the few ethnic restaurants available in Korea mainly\ncatered to foreigners who already had experienced these cuisines prior to their\narrival in Korea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People who run restaurants in the same ethnic food category are obviously competitors, but also collaborators who exchange information with one another on the Korean market and try to promote their particular cuisine. They strive to increase the number of Korean customers who enjoy their cuisine. These efforts have significantly enhanced the visibility of ethnic food restaurants in Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RE-ORIENTING CUISINE<\/a> Consider Re-Orienting Cuisine<\/em> for your course by requesting an e-Inspection copy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you would like to request a FREE e-inspection copy<\/strong> for possible course adoption, simply follow this link.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For updates on our Food and Nutrition<\/a> list as well as all other developments from Berghahn, sign up for customized e-Newsletters<\/a>, become a Facebook fan<\/a>, follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>, and listen to our podcast, Salon B<\/em>, on Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ethnic Food Restaurants in Korea Written by Sangmee Bak Excerpted from RE-ORIENTING CUISINE: East Asian Foodways in the Twenty-First Century Edited by Kwang Ok Kim A food connoisseur whose job allows him to travel abroad frequently, Mr. Lee telephoned an Indian restaurant near a university in Seoul to make a reservation for dinner with a… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":16017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1390],"tags":[107,311,1785,1521,1522,1523,788,359,360,542,716,2029,713,1520,1525,1524,1058,2030,2028,2027,1526,1107],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16009"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16009"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16025,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16009\/revisions\/16025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/berghahnbooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/new-delhi.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAbout the book<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.berghahnbooks.com\/covers\/KimRe-Orienting.jpg\")
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East Asian Foodways in the Twenty-First Century<\/strong>
Edited by Kwang Ok Kim<\/em>
Volume 3: FOOD, NUTRITION, AND CULTURE<\/a>
\u201cThe chapters provide thought-provoking ethnographic material and theoretically rich insights into cuisine, place, identity, authenticity, borders, and taxonomy in Asian foodways in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries\u2026[They] are ethnographically rich, analytically sharp, and cover a wide range of topics to ensure that this book will be read, taught, and cited by scholars interested in food, identity, globalization, and regionalism.\u201d<\/em> \u00b7 Journal of Anthropological Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nStay connected<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n