INTERNATIONAL CUISINE - KOREA

The Land

Korea is a rugged peninsula lying between China on the west and north and Japan to the east. It shares a very small border with Russia to the extreme northeast. Korea is surrounded by water on three sides: the Korea Bay and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait to the south, and the East Sea (also known as the Sea of Japan) to the east. There are more than 3,400 islands along the coast. Mountains and hills make up about 70 percent of the country.

The Korean peninsula is divided by two political states: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The counties are separated by a line 38 degrees north of the equator. North Korea occupies about 55 percent of the peninsula’s 84,402 square miles of land. To the west and south of the peninsula are broad coastal plains where the larger cities are located and where most of the agricultural land is found. With a combined population of nearly 72 million Koreans, in a country the size of Great Britain or New Zealand, the land is well used. The land gently slopes from the south and western coastal plains toward the mountains and drops steeply from the mountains to the East Sea.

History

The Korean Peninsula’s first inhabitants migrated from the northwestern regions of Asia. Some of these peoples also populated parts of northeast China (Manchuria); Koreans and Manchurians still show physical similarities.

According to legend, the god-king Tangun founded the Korean nation in 2333 B.C. By the first century A.D., the Korean peninsula was divided into the kingdoms of Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche. In A.D. 668, the Silla kingdom unified the peninsula. The Koryo dynasty—from which Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century derived the Western name Korea—succeeded the Silla kingdom in 935. The Choson dynasty, ruled by members of the Yi clan, replaced Koryo in 1392 and lasted until the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910.

Throughout most of its history, Korea has been invaded, influenced, and fought over by its larger neighbors. Korea was under Mongolian occupation from 1231 until the early fourteenth century and was plundered by Japanese pirates in 1359 and 1361. The unifier of Japan, Hideyoshi, launched major invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597. When Western powers focused “gunboat” diplomacy on Korea in the mid-nineteenth century, Korea’s rulers adopted a closed-door policy, earning Korea the title of “Hermit Kingdom.”

Though the Choson dynasty paid loyalty to the Chinese court and recognized China’s control in East Asia, Korea was independent until the late nineteenth century. At that time, China sought to block growing Japanese influence on the Korean peninsula and Russian pressure for commercial gains there. This competition resulted in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. Japan emerged victorious from both wars and in 1910 annexed Korea as part of its growing empire.

Japanese colonial administration was characterized by tight control from Tokyo and ruthless efforts to supplant Korean language and culture. Organized Korean resistance during this era—such as the March 1, 1919, Independence Movement—was unsuccessful, and Japan remained firmly in control until the end of World War II in 1945.

Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces in August 1945, and Korea was liberated. However, the unexpectedly early surrender of Japan led to the immediate division of Korea into two occupation zones, with the United States administering the southern half of the peninsula and the U.S.S.R taking over the area to the north of the 38th parallel. This division was meant to be temporary and to facilitate the Japanese surrender until the U.S., Britain, the Soviet Union, and China could arrange a trusteeship administration.

At a meeting in Cairo, it was agreed that Korea would be free “in due course.” At a later meeting in Yalta, it was agreed to establish a four-power trusteeship over Korea. In December 1945, a conference convened in Moscow to discuss the future of Korea. A five-year trusteeship was discussed, and a joint Soviet-American commission was established. The commission met intermittently in Seoul but deadlocked over the issue of establishing a national government.

In September 1947, with no solution in sight, the United States submitted the Korean question to the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly.

Initial hopes for a unified, independent Korea quickly evaporated as the politics of the Cold War and domestic opposition to the trusteeship plan resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate nations with diametrically opposed political, economic, and social systems. War broke out in 1950.

North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. The U.N. sent military assistance. The Korean War lasted three years and inflicted terrible damage to Korea before a cease-fire ended the war in 1953. The four-kilometer-wide area along the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea has become known as the DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone. In the forty-five years since the Korean War there have been continual conflicts along the DMZ.

In 1993, Kim Young Sam became South Korea’s first civilian president following thirty-two years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. By contrast, North Korea is a communist government and one of the most isolated countries in the world. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South’s President Kim Tae-chung and the North’s leader Kim Jong Il. Efforts continue to unify North and South Korea.

The People

Korea’s markets, its fishing and farming villages, modern though the buildings might be, remain very much the same as in the past. And its artisans—celadon pottery makers, for example—have re-created the great works of the past. All are traditional expressions of Korean culture, which is still based on certain six-hundred-year-old Confucian principles. Unlike a religion, Confucianism does not involve the worship of a higher being. But like some religions, it attempts to guide human relationships and improve social and ethical conduct. The fundamental thrust of Confucianism is to maintain peace and order. It has rules for familial relationships that emphasize harmony. It stresses the importance of education and respect for authority.

The Korean family structure is part of a larger kinship structure that is defined by specific obligations. Multigenerational households are quite common in rural areas and in a Korean home, the head of the family—usually the oldest male—holds the position of authority and every family member is expected to do as he says. Large families have been prized and over many centuries families intermarried within the regions of Korea to form large clans. Family names reflect this. A dozen family names predominate, especially Kim, Park, Lee, Kang, and Cho. But Kims from the city of Pusan in the south are not the Kims from Seoul and all the Kims know exactly to which group they belong. Custom forbids people marrying within their own clan, no matter how distant the cousin might be. In order to know who is who, families and clans keep detailed genealogical records that might go back many hundreds of years. Even in today’s Westernized Korea, many people can still recite the history of their clans and take pride in it.

The oldest religious ideas in Korea are called shamanism. These are beliefs that the natural world is filled with spirits, both helpful and harmful, that can be addressed by people with special powers called shamans. Herbal medicines, dances, chants, and other ceremonies mark the work of shamans, most of whom are women. Though few people believe in the religious teachings today, they do accept old ideas about the natural world and use many ancient herbal remedies. Buddhism is one of the most popular religions in South Korea. The religion is based on the teachings of the Buddha; the basic idea is that salvation can come from giving up worldly desires and living in moderation. By living according to the Buddha’s teachings, a Buddhist believes that he or she can reach the state of nirvana—ultimate peace—wherein aperson experiences no pain or worry.

Taoism came from China and is similar to shamanism in its worship of many equally important gods. Taoism’s main principle is to create harmony between humans and nature. The many gods are used as ideals toward which humans can strive and Taoists believe that spiritual perfections can be attained in this life through patience, purity, and peace.

Christianity was brought to Korea in the sixteenth century by Confucian intellectuals who learned about it in the Chinese capital of Peking. The first half of the nineteenth century was a difficult time for Korean Christians; thousands were persecuted and many were killed. Today South Korea is second in Asia only to the Philippines in its percentage of Christians.

The Food

The climate of the Korean peninsula resembles the north central region of the United States: cold winters, warm summers, and long, pleasant autumns. Because the land is made up mostly of mountains and extends from the North Asian landmass into warmer seas in the south, Korea has many micro-environments. In the mountainous northeastern part of the country the most famous dishes have wild ferns, mushrooms, and native roots in them. Namul (raw or cooked vegetable or wild green dishes) is one of the most basic side dishes in the Korean diet.

In the rice-growing valleys of the south, in the region of Chonju city, the best known dish, pibimpap (bibimpap), is a large bowl of rice covered in a variety of finely sliced vegetables, meats, and a fiery red pepper sauce. The basic flavors of Korean food include garlic, ginger, black pepper, spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seed. The chile, a native to Central and South America, was spread across the world by Portuguese and Spanish merchants. Chiles and chile paste has become an important part of all Korean tables and many food preparations.

Its peninsular location gives Koreans three different seas from which to gather fish: the Yellow Sea, the East Sea, and the unique micro-environment where the two seas come together at the south end of the peninsula, the Korea Strait. Fish from the Yellow Sea differ from those of the Eastern Sea (Sea of Japan) and those of the south coast differ from the others.

Koreans are seafood connoisseurs and seek out the specialties of each region. But three types of seafood are served all the time. One kind is a small dried sardine, used not as a main dish but as condiments to be eaten with others and bowls of these appear at every meal, including breakfast. Another is dried cuttlefish (similar to squid or octopus), which is the most popular snack food. All along the road and streets near fishing ports are lines of these cephalopods hanging out to dry. Seaweed and seaweed products are known for numerous health benefits and are prepared to keep well in a climate that endures long winters. Pregnant women, newmothers, and babies are fed seaweed soups. Miyeok guk is a brown seaweed soup known as birthday soup.

Koreans eat many preserved foods, prepared to keep over wintertime. Kimchi is Korea’s signature dish of spicy, pickled vegetables and is served every day at every meal. Kimchi is characterized by its sour, sweet, and carbonated taste, yet is very different from sauerkraut, which is a popular fermented vegetable product in the West. The first written description of making kimchi dates to about A.D. 1250. Many different recipes were published and fermentation methods “invented” for making kimchi, so it is not surprising that the tastes are quite different from one another.

Despite the uniqueness of every kimchi, the basic taste is derived from salt, lactic acid fermentation of vegetables, spices (including hot red pepper, garlic, ginger, and green onion), and pickled fish or fresh seafood. There are about 170 different varieties and two or three kinds are served with meals. It is also used as a seasoning in soups and stews. In summer, kimchi is prepared weekly, since the vegetables are in season. But when winter sets in,no crops can be produced until late spring. The approach of winter marks the start of a long kimchee-making time called gimjang. During gimjang, Koreans gather in groups to cut, wash, and salt hundreds of pounds of the vegetables. After it is prepared, it is stored in the yard inlarge earthenware crocks. In the countryside, the crocks are buried up to their necks to keep the pickled vegetables from freezing.

Bulgogi is one of Korea’s most famous grilled dishes. It is made from sirloin or another prime cut of beef (such as top round), cut into thin strips. For an outside barbecue, the meat is marinated in a mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce, black pepper, garlic, sugar, onions, ginger, and wine for at least four hours to enhance the flavor and to tenderize it. The marinated beef is cooked on a metal dish over the burner. Whole cloves of garlic, sliced onions, and chopped green peppers are often grilled at the same time. To eat, a piece of cooked beef is wrapped in lettuce with rice, kimchi, and shredded vegetables.

There are no real “courses” in a Korean meal. Generally, all food is laid out on the table at the same time and eaten in any order. Dessert is not a Korean tradition; seasonal fruit is normally served with hot tea or coffee.

By Michael F. Nenes in "International Cuisine", John Wiley & Sons. Inc., USA,2009, excerpts pp.271-276. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.