Jennifer Jung-Kim - Korean Foodways (August 5)

[cgao]

Professor Jennifer Jung-Kim received her Ph.D. in Korean History from UCLA. She currently teaches courses on the history and cultures of Korea and East Asia in the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, the International and Area Studies program, the Honors Collegium program, and is affiliated with the Food Studies program. She was selected for the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2021. She is also actively involved in promoting K-12 education on Asia and is an advocate of active learning through Reacting to the Past pedagogy.

Lecture 1

 

 

 

Lecture 2

 

 

READINGS

• Michelle Zauner, “Crying in H Mart,” The New Yorker (August 20, 2018).

Plus one of the following:

• Annie Lee and Kate Leonard, "A Gastronic Study of 20th and 21st Century Korea: Retracing Korean Food from Japanese Colonization to Modern Times," (November 18, 2020).
• Min Joo Lee, "Branding Korea: Food, Cosmopolitanism, and Nationalism on Korean Television" Situations 14.1 (2021): 53-76, doi: 10.22958/situcs.2021.14.1.003

 

 

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[Cervantes Lee]

Food as soft power from of Korea probably is one largest cultural phenomenon after Japanese food in 1980-1990. I moved to Los Angeles in 2008  and truly enjoyed various types Korean food, K-Pop, home Bibigo items, and H-Mart! For the future curriculum design of “restaurant concept growth”, I am thinking to incorporate the East Asia (Japanese, Korean, Chinese,), South East Asia (Vietnamese, Philippines/Singapore/Malaysia/Thai) and India in the curriculum. Some language barriers for me: I need to learn a little Korean and I also hope there is some Chinese character among Korea food products, at least easier for a Chinese like me to associate the “food” directly. I actually in most cases, I only buy Korea foods with Chinese character next to it.

[Rachel Wang]

I thoroughly enjoyed all the readings and lectures for today’s unit. They inspired me to visit my nearest Asian grocery—aptly named Mom’s House—to replenish my kimchi supply and to inquire, for the umpteenth time since before Chinese New Year, whether they have been able to restock my favorite childhood snack from Taiwan. “Guai Guai” 乖乖 are crunchy puffed rice better-than-cheetos nibbles and the best flavor is curry, objectively speaking. Instead of dissolving into tears upon their reply: “No, still not yet,” I picked up these Korean sweets—see photo. They taste like fortune cookies ought to—more textured, fresher, and crispier. In the past, I have taken advantage of the hollow center to craft “birthday bikkies” for classmates and students by inserting thin strips of paper inscribed with greetings and wishes. Since the pandemic began, I have discovered they also taste great when filled with green tea ice cream.

Min Joo Lee’s essay Branding Korea is fascinating, easy to read, and insightful. The tension and inherent paradox she outlined between cosmopolitanism and nationalism are useful lenses through which to analyze the strategies and successes of Korean soft power.

Lee and Leonard refer to several foods that embody the extensive mutual influences between China, Korea, and Japan, e.g. soy sauce, or jjampong. On a different note, the traumas these authors describe underscore the deeply emotional impact that food can have on individuals as well as communities.

My heartfelt thanks to Professor Jung-Kim for the relatable readings and engaging presentations!

 

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[Megan Hsiao]

I really enjoyed Prof. Jung-Kim’s thorough and detailed lecture about Korean foods, which also makes me hungry. Indeed, Korean soft power--K-Pop, K-drama, K-beauty products, and Korean foods, etc are way more far-reaching than we can expect. Many of my students are BTS fans and they have been following these singers on social media and even attending their concerts in the U.S. At school, my students had organized several club activities featuring K-pop music. With this lecture and the readings, I am thinking of incorporating an Asian Food unit in the curriculum by having students study the background history of the Chinese grocery stores and Korean supermarket H Mart and compare and contrast their similarities and differences. During the Lunar New Year, I used to have students make Chinese dumplings and study Chinese New Year's dishes. Prof. Jung-Kim’s presentation and this Food & Identities program have motivated me to also include Japanese food and Korean food in my curriculum. I think studying Korean food history in America is also a good way especially for the Asian American students to understand their history and raise their awareness of their identity.  

 

[Jennifer Jung-Kim]

Hi, Everyone,

Please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have questions. 

And I misspelled Makku -- the drink I was telling you about that is available by the can at Total Wines and More. 

Also, Sonja, I will definitely be visiting you and your students when your student-run restaurant reopens!

Best,

Jennifer 

[Sonja Mason-Briscoe]

Perhaps maybe more now than ever we need to boost our immune systems. Korean food has always automatically encompassed foods that help the gut.

"Fermented foods like kimchi are an easy, low-calorie way to up your vegetable intake and load up on gut health-boosting bacteria (a.k.a. probiotics)" per Women's Health April 2021.

The Annie Lee and Kate Leonard, "A Gastronic Study of 20th and 21st Century Korea: Retracing Korean Food from Japanese Colonization to Modern Times," (November 18, 2020) shows that prebiotics are essential to so many health issues being resolved.

Just as we learned fortune cookies probably started in Japan it is possible Kimchi started in Japan as well. The process of fermentation, pickling, etc. was documented in history as having taken place long before in Korea.

[Sonja Mason-Briscoe]

The readings from Min Joo Lee, "Branding Korea: Food, Cosmopolitanism, and Nationalism on Korean Television" Situations 14.1were very unexpected. As the article discussed, "Due to these perceptions,
McDonald’s had a languid start in Korea. Many Koreans initially rejected
the franchise due to fear that McDonald’s was attempting to colonize
South Korea culturally through hamburgers and french-fries. To succeed
in South Korea, McDonald’s had to market the similarities between a
McDonald’s meal and a “Korean meal” so that Korean customers did not
reject the franchise for being too foreign."
The South Korean government demanded ethnic purity and uniformity though they gladly welcome the popularity of Korean foods in other countries like the US, France, UK and Italy.
As the article went on to explain, Koreaness is associated with foods and is very gender specific. I was surprised that even in this day and time how sexism is prevalent in the Korean culture and food plays a big part in this.

[Sonja Mason-Briscoe]

This was by far my favorite seminar. Professor Kim was so relatable and her teachings are very on par for current trends in Korean fans. Korean BBQ, skin care products, fashion, entertainment, pop culture, and social media are extremely well followed by US young people.

Although my students weren't familiar with Korean cuisine, they were more open to trying to cook bibimbap because of their love of the other well known Korean sensations.

I also enjoyed the discussion of the pendulum swing of Korean food being healthy. Professor Kim explained very well how Korean food can be extremely healthy and assist in the elimination of many health factors yet at the same time it can be extremely unhealthy and promote various health risks.

I look forward to meeting Professor Kim in the near future.

[Sonja Mason-Briscoe]

I was very curious about this drink and so I went and bought it. I may try it again. I plan on trying Bacchus next. Not sure if anyone has tried this other Korean energetic drink that has been around since the 60's. It was originally considered a herbal medicine' to prevent colds and cure hangovers, rather than as an energy drink.

[Sonja Mason-Briscoe]

I completely agree that this seminar was engaging. I too was inspired to visit my local Asian store and Korean restaurant.
I am inspired to learn and try more.

[Sonja Mason-Briscoe]

I plan on inviting Professor Kim to teach these connections of American and Korean history to my advanced class. I believe there are a lot more similarities than we realize. I believe now more than ever our student's need to be able to identify the correlations of the two ctures especially through food. I will have my students do a Korean holiday feast just to embrace their differences and celebrate the similarities. Professor Kim has inspired me.

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