According to the Wall Street Journal’s Korea Realtime Blog, the G20 leaders will be dining on steak (한우, of course! and fancy persimmon fed cattle, at that) as part of a three-course western-style meal.   They also won’t be serving caviar or fois gras for ethical concerns, and Fatman is a little less distraught at not being asked to join them in their repast at the National Museum.

Nanoomi.net is having a party! We want to give our readers a chance to meet some of our bloggers and hear about the new projects we’re rolling out.
나누미(Nanoomi.net)에서 블로거분들과 함께하는 파티를 개최합니다.

The event itself will be casual, with light food (including Korean tacos!), drinks, music and short presentations by some of our bloggers.
이번 파티에는 멋진 음악과 함께 맛있는 식음료가 제공되며 간단한 프리젠테이션을 함께할 예정입니다.

When: Saturday, Nov. 6, 6:30-10 p.m., 2010년 11월 6일 (토) 오후 6:30~10:30
Presentations from 7-8 p.m. 오후 7시~8시 나누미 필진들의 간략한 프리젠테이션이 예정되어있습니다.
Photo/Video Slideshow, Music, Light Refreshments, Party 8-10 p.m.
사진과 비디오 슬라이드쇼, 음악과 함께하는 가벼운 다과파티가 8시부터 10시까지 진행됩니다.

Where: Sonofactory (http://blog.naver.com/sonofactory/)
Taeseong Building, 1st floor, 204-54 Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
장소: 서울특별시 마포구 동교동 204-54 태성빌딩 1층 소노팩토리
Near Hongik University Station, line 2, exit 1
Map: http://bit.ly/c3hjhp

Phone/전화안내: 070-8224-8976

Cost: 10,000 won (Pay at the door)
참석비: 1만원(현장 현금결제만 가능합니다.)

RSVP at http://onoffmix.com/event/1972
(You must join OnOffMix to register: http://onoffmix.com/account/join)
온오프믹스에서 사전에 신청해주시면 됩니다. 결제는 현장에서 현금으로만 받습니다.

ABOUT NANOOMI:
Nanoomi is the first site to bridge the Korean and English blogospheres, and the first case in which a well-established Korean media-tech venture, Tatter & Media, has funneled efforts into highlighting English-language blogs in Korea.
나누미는 태터앤미디어가 세계 최초로 설립한 한글과 영어 블로고스피어를 이어주는 블로그 입니다.
세계와 한국의 블로그를 통틀어 깊고 다양한 이야기들을 공유할 작가,번역가가 모인 한국을 사랑하는 사람들의 커뮤니티 입니다.

In the past, Tatter & Media (http://tattermedia.com/), which claims over 200 of Korea’s top “power bloggers” as its partners, had focused exclusively on Korean-language content. But, in response to worries about “linguistic isolation” on the Internet – in which people who speak the language interact only with each other online – Tatter is helping us get our expat bloggers an opportunity to reach a Korean audience. This is happening not only through the site, but also with podcasts and Android apps that are in the works.
과거 태터앤미디어는 200여 파워 블로거 파트너들에게 한국어 콘텐츠를 제공하는데 주력했습니다. 그러나 “언어적 고립”에 대응하고자 한국의 잠재적 유저에게 다가갈 수 있는 기회를 제공하려 했고, 나누미를 통해 다양한 언어를 말하는 사람들이 서로가 온라인에서 상호작용을 하고 이를 팟캐스트와 안드로이드 어플리케이션으로도 이어지도록 노력하고 있습니다.

Nanoomi is a “bridge blog” with writers who span the language divide with their content. For example, among Nanoomi’s 25+ bloggers:

• Joe McPherson (ZenKimchi) will tell the world about Korean food, while also offering the Korean government and companies suggestions on how to market their food overseas.
• Robert Koehler (The Marmot’s Hole) and Matt VanVolkenburg (Gusts of Popular Feeling) provide English-language readers translations of Korean news, document the country’s urban development and offer historical perspective on current issues.
• Darcy Paquet and Tom Giammarco (KoreanFilm.org) open up Korean cinema to a global audience.
• Simon and Martina Stawski (Eat Your Kimchi) provide a fun look into Korean life and pop culture through their entertaining videos.

나누미는 자신의 콘텐츠로 각자의 언어를 통해 에디터를 거쳐 함께하는 브릿지 블로그 입니다. 나누미를 구성하는 25인의 블로거중 예를 들어 조 맥퍼슨(ZenKimchi)과 제니퍼(FatManSeoul)는 해외 시장에 그들의 요리 레시피에 대한 한국 정부 및 기업의 제안을 제공하는 반면, 한국 음식에 대한 이야기를 전합니다.

로버트(The Marmot’s Hole)와 매트(Gusts of Popular Feeling)는 한국 소식과 역사를 번역해 제공하며 다시와 톰은 (KoreanFilm.org) 전세계 관객에게 한국 영화를 전합니다. 아울러 사이먼과 마르티나는(EatYourKimchi) 그들의 엔터테인먼트를 통해 한국 생활과 대중 문화에 관한 즐거운 모습을 제공합니다.
Please feel free to invite anyone who would be interested in this event. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Cynthia Yoo, Nanoomi’s founding editor (editor@nanoomi.net); Hannah Bae, Head Editor (hannahbae@gmail.com); or Hyeon Chol Yang (yang000n@gmail.com).
이번 파티에 어울릴 주변 동료를 초대해 주세요! 궁금하신 사항은 언제든지 신시아, Nanoomi(editor@nanoomi.net), 한나(hannahbae@gmail.com)혹은 양현철(yang000n@gmail.com)에게 문의 주시면 감사드리겠습니다.

We hope you can join us on the 6th!
11월 6일 나누미 파티에 여러분의 많은 참여 바랍니다!

p.s. If you’re having trouble registering at OnOffMix, please register here.

Well, not all kimchi.  Just one of the hundreds of distinguishable varieties out there.  But hey!  It’s the important one!  The most basic of all baechu kimchi is going the way of the dodo.

Well, sort of.  Last year there was a glut, so farmers cut back on how much they planted.  Then, we got hit with one lousy weather system after another, and voila!  There’s not enough napa cabbage to go ’round, a single head can now cost more than 10,000 won.  Did you hear that?  WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!

They’ll be no gimjang this year, kiddies. It’s canceled! St. Saeur Kraut won’t be visiting and leaving magical gifts of spicy cabbage in your gomushin, and there won’t be a single leaf left to decorate your gimjang tree.  Worse yet, restaurants may start charging for kimchi!

But as in all times of trouble and scarcity, Koreans can look to President Lee Myeong-bak to lead the way.  Has there ever been a leader so truly in touch with his people?  In sympathy for their plight, he’s switching to kimchi made with western-style round cabbage until the crisis abates.  What a guy!

What is being done to protect us all from the terror?  Well, we’re going to start importing Chinese cabbage from . . . uh, China (fancy that!), even though it may not match our unique body chemistry (or contain dangerous parasites.  Same-same)

Those of you with a survivalist frame of mind, who have already stockpiled canned food and water in preparation for nuclear winter can try your own radical approach and grow your own on the roof of your bomb shelter.

In order to help you through the coming dark days and ease your hunger, we’d like to point you to a few recipes for 깍두기 (cubed radish) from Aeri’s Kitchen and Wandering Chopsticks, and Maangchi’s 열무 물김치.  Also, for quite posibbly the most comprehensive rundown of kimchi commotion ever, check out the Marmot’s entry.  Good luck!

Top seven gross Korean dishes selected by foreign staff at the Korea Herald

All we can say is that intern reporter Ryu Jeong-hyun needs to learn what actually constitutes news.  Hint:  polling your foreign colleagues about what Korean foods wig them out isn’t it.

mmmmmmmm! 순대!

For the record, the offending foods were 홍어 (fermented skate), 번데기 (silkworm larvae), 닭발 (chicken feet), 산낙지 (“live” octopus), 순대 (blood sausage), 보신탕 (dog soup), and 곱창 (intestines).

Fatman would like to point out that lots of Koreans don’t like or eat these foods.  Hongeo is a taste acquired only through much endurance.  Most people never acquire it, and that’s fine.  But it doesn’t make it “gross.”

Beondaegi-eating is a generational divide, with older people enjoying it more than the young . . . but young people have grown up in a totally different culinary and economic landscape.  It’s a nostalgia food for many people.

Surprise!  Chicken feet is a food with international legs.  Apparently the Korea Herald doesn’t have anybody from, say, the Philippines, Africa, the Caribbean, the American south, or . . . well, most of the rest of Asia.

어머나!  Sundae is made with pig intestine?  You mean, just like virtually every other kind of sausage?!?*  And it’s not like people don’t eat blood sausage elsewhere, like . . . oh, most of western Europe.

Fatman could write all day about how these so-called strange foods actually can be found around the world in various forms.  But the real problems is that acting like a very narrow sampling of (we’re guessing white, western, probably North American) foreigners can be used to show what foreigners as a group think about Korean food is annoying.  It’s stupid because it exoticizes Korean food and turns foreigners into a monolithic group.

News flash:  Poorly researched, half-assed articles are annoying.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, Fatman has an insatiable craving for sundae . . .

*caveat – most sundae, and indeed most sausage nowadays, uses synthetic wrappers instead of intestines . . . but mostly to save on cost.  High quality stuff is still stuffed inside pig stuffing.

Zen Kimchi in Harper’s Bazar

The Japanese trademarked makgeolli

Reknowned film critic Roger Ebert has a rice cooker cookbook out, despite being unable to eat

Seoul’s tap water won’t kill you

Fatman wined and dined with Wine Korea

And somebody really likes Kimchi

Sure, the Korean team may have been knocked out of the World Cup, but you can always enjoy a cup of makgeolli in consolation.  Or, take a more celebratory tone by turning your attention to the Makgeolli World Cup ~ this clever cafe on Naver has matched different makgeolli with different countries for a showdown that leaves everyone a winner.  Check out the current rankings here, and try some at home for your own special world cup experience!    Or, head down to your local makgeolli bar (Fatman recommends 친친 in 홍대) to cheer along.

Oh yeah, and some other clown had something to say about how blogging has influenced food culture in Korea. Hmmm.

]]> http://www.fatmanseoul.com/2010/06/17/zen-kimchis-tedxseoul-talk/feed/ 1 http://www.fatmanseoul.com/2010/06/01/globalizing-korean-food-ur-doin-it-wrong/ http://www.fatmanseoul.com/2010/06/01/globalizing-korean-food-ur-doin-it-wrong/#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 16:02:31 +0000 fatmanseoul http://www.fatmanseoul.com/?p=1390 Tipping the fat hat to Brian in Jeollanam-do, who has already put up excellent posts on the subject here and here, the JoongAng Daily reports that the Korean government has had to do a wee bit of backpedaling on the whole “drunken rice” thing, thanks to some Netizen tongue-lashing:

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held a public contest to develop an official English-language nickname for makgeolli, and last week it announced the winner: “Drunken Rice.” In second and third place were “Makcohol” and “Markelixir.”

The ministry said in release earlier that the nickname should be easy and fun for foreigners to pronounce, and pledged to use the winning name in its marketing activities.

Soon after the results were released, however, the ministry’s Web site was bombarded with postings criticizing the move.

“Unlike in Korea, where alcohol drinking is generously accepted by society, the English word ‘drunken’ conveys considerably negative connotation. Besides, would you find it easy to understand wine if its origin countries called it ‘drunken grape’?” wrote Choi Hae-su.

Another citizen, Lee Jae-hong, wrote, “I live in Japan and nine out of 10 Japanese here know makgeolli as it is. Why are you trying to give it an English nickname when it is gradually gaining recognition?”

In response to the outcry, the ministry backed off, saying it won’t adopt the nickname after all, since “the event was meant to fan the makgeolli craze further among the general public,” according to a government official.

Instead, the Presidential Council on National Branding will come up with a simplified romanization of the word by the end of June, the official added, without providing details.

Why on earth they want to waste their time coming up with an alternate to the already well-established romanization systems, Fatman does not wish to know.  We’re exhausted with all the tomfoolery already.   But three cheers for the Netizens!

ORIGINAL POST:

Dear God, have mercy on us all.  Whoever is behind this deserves a mighty smiting.

Makgeolli is henceforth to be known as “Drunken Rice.”

This is so many shades of wrong Fatman doesn’t even know where to begin.  The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MOFAFF) apparently thinks that a) foreigners (read here, westerners) are stupid and b) this will make it easy for those poor stupid foreigners.

Why is this such a dumb idea?  Let us count the ways:

• First, the name fails at the most basic level by failing to communicate that the item at hand is a drink.  Seriously, “drunken rice” indicates that it is in fact, some kind of rice.  That would be FOOD.   Y’know, chopsticks/knife and fork/fingers as major route to consumption, instead of something you drink from a cup.  Kind of a big difference. Furthermore, there’s already a well known Chinese dish called “drunken chicken” so we’re even further away from communicating to non-Koreans what the hell 막걸리 actually is.  Epic, EPIC FAIL!
• The fact that the new nickname is in (bad) English just demonstrates that the agencies involved are too wrapped up in marketing to western tourists, despite the fact that a huge hunk of the people who clamor for Korean food products and come here for tourism are other Asians.  The biggest current market for makgeolli outside Korea is . . . Japan.  And you know what name the drink is known under there?  The drink that has seen a major expansion of its market there?  マッコリ。 Makkori,  i.e. the same exact word.  Somehow, Fatman doesn’t think they’re thinking of the Japanese and their lust for ドファンケンライス (doraanken raisu)。
• The Korean word is too hard for those poor stupid white foreigners and their too long-tongues?  Because if we look at the vast variety of foods with foreign origins floating around America, Canada, England, etc., you’ll see that the vast majority have retained their original, non-English names.  Pizza, sushi, pad thai, ratatouille, pho, masala, schnitzel, challa, borsch, tangine . . . all of these have distinctly non-English names, and oftentimes non-obvious pronunciations for monolingual English speakers.  And yet, nobody is trying to give them “easier” pronunciations (ala “topokki” instead of ddeokpokki) or fake names that somebody just made up to be cute and patronizing.
• There’s a reason for that ~ If you head to a restaurant in France and ask for “Rat Yummy” they’re not going to have a clue what you mean.  And Fatman is willing to bet that if a tourist shows up and asks around for where they can get “drunken rice,”  nobody is going to know what on earth they’re after.  Yes, “makgeolli” may be a bit hard for your average foreigner to figure out how to say by looking at the word in a guide book.  But they’ll still get a heck of a lot further with a badly pronounced “mack-goaly” than they will with “drunken rice.”  Koreans have been calling it 막걸리 for quite some time now, and Fatman doesn’t think the local population is expected to make this switch, so what’s the point?  It does no good to teach foreigners to use a word Koreans don’t know, use, or understand.

This is obviously something that has not been thought out through all the way.  The problem is that Korea can’t afford to keep making these kinds of flubs as it tries to market itself internationally.  There needs to be a real, serious consideration of what people mean when they talk about globalizing Korean food.  Right now, the phrase gets tossed around and used for bigwigs to fund ridiculous projects that make it look like they’re doing something grand when they’re not.  But in the end, nobody has reallyconcientiously worked through what Koreans actually hope to gain from globalizing their cuisine, and what this means in concrete terms.  Until the government and associated agencies really put some thought into this, we’re going to continue to see silly, empty gestures like this.