The global fascination with Korean culture, known as the Korean Wave (Hallyu), has propelled Korean cuisine from a relative unknown to a trendy and increasingly mainstream culinary force . This surge in interest has been accompanied by a corresponding rise in English-language publications that seek to document, analyze, and celebrate the rich food culture of Korea. This article reviews three notable books that offer distinct lenses through which to understand Korean food: one that examines its cultural and historical roots, one that explores its contemporary global evolution, and one that provides a comprehensive, scholarly overview of the cuisine itself.
For readers interested in a rigorous academic exploration of Korean food, the edited volume Communicating Food in Korea , edited by Jaehyeon Jeong and Joong-Hwan Oh, is an invaluable resource . As reviewed by Lucy M. Long, this collection of essays stands out because it focuses on Korean food culture "in its own right," rather than framing it as an "ethnic cuisine" defined against a Western "host" culture . The book offers a distinctly Korean perspective, with contributions from scholars in sociology, communications, history, and nutritional science .
The volume is divided into four thematic parts, each unpacking a different facet of Korea's culinary identity:
Historical Context: It traces the impact of Japanese occupation, war, and modernization on Korean food and agricultural land, and how post-war novels used food to represent societal shifts from poverty to the complexities of modern life .
National Cuisine and Globalization: This section will be of particular interest to those curious about how kimchi became a potent symbol of national identity. It also offers insightful discussions on the "invention of tradition," analyzing how practices like Buddhist temple cuisine are reinvented and mobilized by the state for cultural and economic development .
Multicultural Korea: Challenging the notion of Korea as a homogenous society, this part presents studies on the adaptation of Vietnamese immigrant wives to Korean food and the emergence of halal food in the country, reflecting Korea's growing diversity .
Contemporary Issues: The final section addresses modern concerns like food tourism and food insecurity, linking them to broader economic policies and global issues .
This book is praised for shedding light on the complexity of Korean food culture and is recommended for scholars and students in Asian studies and food studies, particularly given the concurrent global interest in K-pop and K-dramas .