Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Interesting things about Korean food and eating

Kalbi Food and drinks, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In South Korea, one of my favourite things is the Korean food – there are a number of Korean foods I really like and for some there are also interesting stories behind them. Further, there are also some interesting things about “eating” in Korean culture. So, I would like to start a series of blog posts on “Hansik” (한식 – Korean food) to talk about interesting things about Korean food and eating in South Korea.  This is the first post in the series – I will talk about some general interesting things about hansik and eating first. In the coming posts, I will talk about some signature hansik and, of course, my favourite hansik, and other things about eating in Korean culture. You can also share your favourite hansik with us in the “Comments” section.

Hansik in the Eyes of Foreigners

According to a survey by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute of 810 foreigners who visited South Korea in 2014, foreigners graded hansik at 74.4 out of 100, and by region, Americans graded the highest at 82.4, followed by Japanese (78.5), Europeans (77.8), others (76.3) and Asians except Japanese and Chinese (76.2). Chinese gave a relatively low score of 70.

During their stay, the hansik eaten by most visitors is bibimbap (비빔밥 – rice mixed with assorted vegetables) (72.5%), followed by bulgogi (불고기 – grilled beef) (60.6%), samgyeopsal (삼겹살 – grilled pork belly) (57.2%), fried chicken (치킨) (51.2%), tteok (떡 – rice cakes) (51%) and gimbap (김밥 – dried seaweed rice roll) (46.4%), with multiple replies being allowed.  Countrywise Japanese like galbi (갈비 – marinated beef /pork short ribs) the most, while Chinese like samyeopsal; other Asians, bibimbap; and Americans and Europeans, bulgogi.  Are any of these foods also your favourite ones?  I will talk more about these foods in the coming posts.

Key Features of Hansik

Hansik is well-known as a healthy food – with the people becoming increasingly concerned about well-being, hansik has gained more attention from people both in South Korea and overseas.  Why is hansik a healthy food?  The secret lies in the ingredients being used and the cooking techniques.

For each meal, boiled rice, side dishes and soup (made from seafood, vegetables and/or meat) are key items for the Koreans and main dishes (which can be made from meat and/or fish and/or vegetables) may vary between meals.  Typically, there are at least 3 to 4 side dishes, at least one of which is kimchi (김치 – fermented vegetables), and a family may have 10 or more side dishes for one meal.  The side dishes are usually food made from vegetables and so are nutritious and healthy. There are also some side dishes made from fried fish, salted fish or sliced meat. In Korean restaurants, side dishes are usually free of charge and if you have finished a side dish, you can ask for more if you like. It is found that a Korean meal provides a well-balanced diet – according to nutritionists’ research, hansik dishes maintain figures close to the recommended ratios between carbohydrates (65%), protein (15%) and fat (20%).

Koreans use fermented ingredients a lot.  Such ingredients contain a lot of lactic acid, bacteria and dietary fibres and have anti-cancer properties and are good for digestion. Kimchi, which is a type of fermented vegetables, is a “must-eat” side dish for every meal.  Kimchi has been named by the US health magazine, “Health”, as one of the healthiest foods in the world. Koreans also used fermented sauce for seasoning, for example, ganjang (간장 – soy sauce), deonjang (된장 – ground soybean paste), gochujang (고추장 – red pepper paste) – such sauce not only makes the food taste good, but also makes the food healthy to eat.

Hansik also represents the metaphysical view of the Koreans – the theory of yin and yang (representing earth and heaven respectively) and the interaction between the two resulting in dynamic energies represented by the five elements that make up the universe (i.e., water, fire, wood, metal and earth).  The traditional Korean table consists of dishes of five colours, namely, green, red, yellow, white, and black, which represent the five elements and also the five tastes of spicy, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. It is believed that a combination of dishes with these colours provides nutritional balance.  A good example is bibimbap which is rice mixed with assorted vegetables of different colours, egg and gochujang (red pepper paste).

Main cooking techniques used by the Koreans are grilling, boiling, pan-frying and steaming which do not use much oil and so make the food healthy to eat.

Eating shows, “Mokbang” (먹방), on the Web

For Koreans, eating is a social and communal activity. However, as nearly a quarter of the population now live alone, eating alone has become a new trend in South Korea.  As a result, live eating shows, “Mokbang” (literally, “eating broadcast”), have recently become a hit. In Mokbang, the host eats food and chats with the audience like a friend. The show is watched by the audience through webcast and the audience may send their comments through texting to chat with the host.  Sometimes, the host may also demonstrate how to cook the food.

In South Korea, Mokbang started in early 2013 when a national media wrote about a film star eating on screen which made the viewers’ mouth water. Then network television started eating shows, for example, Sam Hammington (an Australian comedian) joking in Korean while eating in a show.  Now, Mokbang has became popular in South Korea – for example, the video of a Korean female host called Diva (디바) showing her eating a big Chinese meal got nearly 70,000 views in less than 2 months.  You may watch an episode of the Mokbang hosted by Diva (디바) by clicking the link below:

Mokbang episode by Diva (디바)

During the Mokbang, the audience may also send virtual gifts to the host – such gifts are denominated in virtual currency which can then be converted into real cash minus a fee paid to the hosting platform service provider.  For example, according to Choi Ji-hwan who hosts a Mokbang on AfreecaTV (a YouTube-like platform), he earns about 2 million won (about US$1,880) a month after deducting expenses.

Here ends the first post in this Hansik series, more on hansik in the coming posts. Please don’t miss them!  Also feel free to share your favourite Korean food in the “Comments” section.

Reminder: The next blog post will be published on 2 April 2015.  Watch this space!

 

Related Blog Posts

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Bibimbap” dated 2 April 2015

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Bulgogi” dated 9 April 2015

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Samgyeopsal” dated 14 April 2015

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Samgyetang” dated 16 April 2015

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Korean Table Manners” dated 21 April 2015

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Kimchi” dated 23 April 2015

“Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Chimaek (Fried Chicken and Beer)” dated 28 April 2015

 

References:

Kim Rahn, “Foreign visitors find Korean food ‘so-so’“, The Korea Times, 2015-03-16

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, “Hansik and the long tradition of Korean cooking“, The Jakarta Post, 2015-02-01

“The new South Korean craze for live-streaming eating“, France24, 2014-03-14

Jeyup S. Kwaak, “In South Korea, eating shows – or ‘Mokbang’ – are hits on the web“, The Wall Street Journal, 2014-03-09

“Colors, meanings, charms and flavors in Korean dishes“, The Korea Herald, 2010-06-03

“Hansik“, Hanstyle

“The story of Korean food“, Korea Tourism Organization

“Customs“, Korea Tourism Organization

40 thoughts on “Hansik (Korean Food) Series – Interesting things about Korean food and eating”

  1. Have you ever considered creating an e-book or guest authoring on other blogs?

    I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss and would
    really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my subscribers would enjoy your work.
    If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

    Like

    Reply

  2. I’m not sure exactly why but this web site is loading very slow for me.
    Is anyone else having this problem or is it a
    problem on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still
    exists.

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks for your comments. You may check if this is your browser issues because some users in fact told me that my blog loaded quite fast.
      Cheers
      Kalbi

      Like

      Reply

  3. Attractive portion of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to say that I get actually enjoyed account your weblog posts.
    Anyway I will be subscribing to your feeds and even I fulfillment you
    get entry to consistently rapidly.

    Like

    Reply

  6. Thank you for every other great post. The place
    else may just anybody get that kind of info in such
    an ideal means of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent
    week, and I’m on the look for such information.

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks for your comments. You may refer to the sources under the “Reference” section at the bottom of my posts to get more information.

      Wish you every success in your presentation.

      Cheers

      Kalbi

      Like

      Reply

    • Thanks for your comments. You may refer to the materials listed under the “References” section of my post and the “Resources” page of my web site.

      Cheers

      Kalbi

      Like

      Reply

  9. Hi! This post couldn’t be written any better!
    Reading through this post reminds me of my old room
    mate! He always kept talking about this. I will
    forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a
    good read. Thank you for sharing!

    Like

    Reply

  11. I blog frequently and I really thank you for your content.
    Your article has truly peaked my interest.
    I will book mark your website and keep checking for new information about once per week.
    I opted in for your Feed as well.

    Like

    Reply

    • I will write part 2 on the same topic when I get more interesting information on it. In the meantime, there are also other posts in this Hansik (Korean Food) Series, you may refer to the “Related Blog Posts” section in the body of the post.

      Cheers

      Kalbi

      Like

      Reply

  14. Hey! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my
    good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this.
    I will forward this write-up to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read.
    Many thanks for sharing!

    Like

    Reply

  17. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew
    of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
    I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some
    time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.

    Please let me know if you run into anything.

    I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to
    your new updates.

    Like

    Reply

  25. Just wish to say your article is as surprising.
    The clarity to your submit is simply spectacular and that i
    can think you’re knowledgeable on this subject.

    Fine along with your permission allow me to grasp your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
    Thanks one million and please keep up the enjoyable work.

    Like

    Reply

  26. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts.

    After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!

    Like

    Reply

  27. I like the valuable info you provide on your articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and test again right here
    frequently. I am rather sure I’ll learn many new
    stuff right right here! Good luck for the following!

    Like

    Reply

  28. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
    After all I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!

    Like

    Reply

Please share your comments or thoughts here