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North Korean Cuisine Korea is considered to be one of the oldest civilizations. It dates back to 3000 years. It goes without saying that for such a long period different historical changes influenced greatly the changes in Korean cuisine. They should be mentioned. The state is situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. At present, it is divided into North Korea and South Korea.
The state borders China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast, with Japan situated to the southeast across the Korea Strait. Thats why Korea adopted neighboring cultures as well as had an influence on the development of them. In the 2 nd century BCE, Korea adopted the Chinese writing system, and later, in the 4 th century CE, Buddhism. It should be mentioned that Chinese cultures influenced greatly ancient Korean until the period of the Japanese Occupation, from 1910 to 1945. Korean culture helped Japan cultivate its civilization; though the Japanese government tried to implant the Japanese language and culture. During the period of the Japanese Occupation, a lot of Korean artifacts had been destroyed.
But in spite of all those events, Korea has kept its ethnic, cultural, and linguistic distinctiveness. The end of the Japanese occupation of Korea was the end of the feudal system in the country. Koreans had moved onto a more modern style of living. In the late 19 th century, Korea became the target of imperial aggression of Europe. In 1945, Soviet Union and United States captured the northern and southern parts of the country. They imposed governmental systems corresponding to their own ideologies.
The country was divided into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea. North Korea became a communist state and South Korea was a country with capitalist liberal democracy The both parts followed their own way of development. Though they were so resemble, there were a lot of different in them. North Korea was named the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) officially.
Pyongyang became the capital of it. From 1948, the governor of the country was Kim Il-sung. He was honored by the Koreans and ruled till his death on July 8, 1994. At the end of his life, Kim Il-sung was followed by his son, Kim Jong-Il.
Kim Jong-Il was named General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party. The period after the Korean War in 50 s, was the most favorable for the economic growth of the country. In 1960 s and ' 70 s, the country's economy was stronger than that in the South. The regime of the North Korea made a lot of efforts to preserve Korean culture, including food, dress, art, architecture, and folkways. But in the mid-to-late 1990 s, the country's economy declined, under the ruling of Kim Jong-Il. Most of all, it was followed with food shortages.
A lot of people in rural areas starved to death. And only in recent years, the food situation has improved. But in spite of all advantages and disadvantages of Kim IL Sung and his sons policy, there is a vast personality cult around Kim IL Sung and Kim Jong IL. Due to it, a lot of dishes and food were borrowed from other countries. There are a lot of stories about Kim Jong-Ils eating habits. The former leader ordered meals from different parts of the world.
He bought particular rice cakes in Tokyo; melons and grapes from Urumqi mangoes and papayas from Thailand, Czech draft beer, wine and cheese from France, Danish pork, Iranian caviar and seafood from Japan. He was a great fan of native cuisine. He liked dog meat, especially a traditional ''virility meal. In the South, there was some confusion about whose meat to eat. In the North, also there were some image problems; and Kim Il-sung officially renamed dishes with dog meat to ''sweet meat.
He stated that foreign imperialism in the South would lead the country to cultural ethnic identity with the West; that the Koreans from the South had no opportunity to participate in the creation of a new but distinctively Korean culture. After the division of Korea in 1948, the culture of South Korea developed separately from North Korea's culture. Though it has a lot of from the traditional culture of Korea, but there is a great influence of Western and other Asian cultures. After the division, South Korea was involved in the processes of industrialization and urbanization. It has changed the way Korean people live. In the past, several generations did not live under one roof.
Nowadays, they do. It is known that preparing of dishes from Korean traditional cosine take a lot of time. Living in a nuclear family, the Koreans from the southern part have had an opportunity to follow the traditions. But the influence of foreign countries is still great, especially in peoples eating habits.
For example, South Koreans like Pizza very much, but they often add corn, sweet potato, mayonnaise, and various other ingredients from their native cosine. There are a lot of Chinese, northern Italian, French, and Indian restaurants all over South Korea. Fusion food is served in them. Most of all, there are many vegetarian restaurants with the decline of Buddhism. Having examined historical background, it is necessary to describe wonderful and unusual Korean cuisine. It is the traditional food of Korea.
It varies from the complex Korean royal court cuisine to modern fusion cuisine. As it was mentioned earlier, preparation of Korean food demands an intensive labor force. Traditional dishes include samba, bulgari, sinseollo, kimchi, bibimbap and gujeolpan. Korean cuisine consists of great number of ingredients and nowadays is becoming internationally popular.
The base for the foods is rice, vegetables, meats and tofu. There are a lot of side dishes in traditional Korean meals. The choice of a dish depends on a season. In winter Korean cuisine relies much on kimchi and other pickled vegetables. Lets say some more words about kimchi.
They say it connects the Korean people to our ancestors, our land, our children, our culture, our sense of identity and past struggles for survival during the bitter cold winter months. Kimchi is like a cultural icon to Koreans. Koreans say that "as one eats kimchi, one eats the universe, and in so doing becomes part of the universe and the universe becomes a part of man. " Kimchi benefits peoples health. Due to the veterans from the Korean War, kimchi became popular in America. Winter kimchi is still made in rural areas of Korea. One of the most famous types of kimchi is kim jang from Northern areas.
Another dish, naengmyun, is from Northern Korean, the Phone-an-do and Hamgyong-do provinces, too. It is a cold noodle dish. As a rule, it is a kind of winter dishes. For several years, Koreans from other regions have added different ingredients; and, nowadays, naengmyun is eaten in summer too. Korea is considered to be a soup loving country. The quality of bones is of great importance in Korea.
The most preferable ones are beef bones. Sometimes they are as expensive as the best cuts of meat. As it was pointed, rice has become the staple food of Korea. The essential recipes in Korea are based on rice, though barley and beans are also used. Taking into account that the country is washed be the sea from the three sides, seafood is very important. The usage of pickled fish and pickled vegetables had a long history.
They provide essential proteins and vitamins during the winter. What is a real shock for a European is consumption of dog meat. There are various forms of it. Korean used it from the early times and believed that dog meat is very useful for ones health. The most favorable dish is bosintang (spicy stew with a particular breed of dog meat).
It is a special summer dish and is served in many restaurants. By the way, not all dogs are eaten, only Nursing. Korean royal court cuisine or Surasang differs greatly from the traditional one. For a long time it was an issue of great interest and respect. Frankly speaking, there is hardly any other cuisine in the world that has such a great number of dishes and ingredients as Korean royal court cuisine has.
It traditionally consumed at the court of the Joseph Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. Korean royal cuisine takes hours and even days to be prepared. A lot of aspects should be taken into account such as harmonization between warm and cold, hot and mild, rough and soft, solid and liquid, and a balance of presentation colors. Dishes should be served on hand-forged bronze ware or Bangjjaa. According to the ritual, twelve dishes should be served. Sura is the set of dishes, rice and soup.
Thats why the ceremony was called Surasang. There should be three tables and a hot pot in the room. The largest round table should be placed in right corner. It is the main table. There are main bowl, soups and stews, dishes, side dishes and fermented stored dishes on it. Another table is smaller than the main one and should be placed in left corner.
It contains red sura: gom tang or thick meat broth, dessert, tea, empty dishes and bowls. Rectangular table should be placed to the right of the main table and contains eggs, sesame oil, various raw vegetables and several sauces. The hot pot is used to heat a food. Recently, dishes from Korean royal court cuisine have become very popular, though they are rather expensive. They should be served by exclusive waiters, at high-end restaurants in select locations.
As a country with rich traditions, Korea has ceremonial foods and ritual foods. Ceremonial foods are served when a child reaches 100 days, at the first birthday, at a wedding ceremony, and the sixtieth birthday. Ritual foods are served at funerals, at ancestral rites, shaman's offerings and as temple food. Temple food should consist of five strong-flavored ingredients: garlic, spring onion, wild rocambole, leek and ginger. It should be pointed that colors of the foods play an important role in Korean cuisine. They should be balanced according to yin and yang.
The art of tea Koreans borrowed from China gave rise to the Korean Tea Ceremony. It dates back over 2000 years. For a long history of the tea ceremony in Korea, a lot of worship recipes have been introduced. Later, tea was used only as a part of traditional herbal medicine.
It has ceremonial purposes. It seems that the Koreans use all possible kinds of tea such as Green tea, teas made of fruits, leaves, seeds or roots. Korean tea can have sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent tastes. Nowadays, tea is also used for relaxation and harmony. It is a new stage in Korean culture. Recently, the developed net of restaurants, run by the Koreans, has been opened in many countries such as China, Russia, and the United States etc.
Bibliography: Andrei, Lanka. Another Korea: North Korean Leaders Taste. The Times. August 13, 2006. Times web Betsy, O'Brien. Let's Eat Korean Food.
NJ: Holly. 1997. Bruce, Cost. Asian ingredients: a guide to the foodstuffs of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. New York: Harper Perrenial, 2000.
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