Intro.

DISCLAIMER: Most Korean dish you know may not be "traditional" Korean dish but "modern" Korean dish. 

Tteokbokki, bibimbap, galbi, and budae jjigae are popular Korean dish globally. Which one do you think is "traditional" Korean dish? Non of them are traditional Korean dish. People often associate "Korean" dish with "authentic" and "traditional" dish; however, that is not always true. Actually, most Korean dish we know and eat in everyday life were invented, developed, and modified during the 20th century. In other words, Korean cuisine also modernized. Shocking isn't it? In macroscopic point of view, changes in Korean cuisine may seem trivial compare to Japanese colonization, Korean independence from Japan, Korean War, etc. However, everyone is not a historical figure. Not everyone participated in independence movement during Japanese colonization nor everyone cooperated with Japanese. People responded to social changes, adjusted to new rules and new leaders to continue living. I think macroscopic point of view does not capture everyday life and details of people. I believe it is important to take a microscopic point of view and study "modernization of Korean food" to understand how people adjusted to and survived through dramatic, harsh situation.

In this blog, I wish to talk about "modernization" in Korean food culture during last 100 years and take a glimpse into 20th century Koreans' world.