Korean cusine, like many other culinary cultures, has evolved over several centuries and has been subjected to various changes mostly dictated by the environment and the highly changing economic and social system.
Like many Asian cuisines, it is based on rice, vegetables and meat which is consumed with greater prevalence in the South of the Peninsula.
We shouldn't think about Korean food as similar to ours (italian) where our culture has accustomed us to dishes characterized by well-differentiated first or second courses. What unites our cuisine to Korean, however, is undoubtedly conviviality, for both cultures in fact sharing a meal with one's family or friends is very important.
The most common ingredients used are:
Rice- that gets steamed in special ricecookers
Kimchi - contrary to popular belief, this is not only done with fermented kohlrabi but can also be done with other vegetables (usually rich of water) such as radishes. * A dedicated article on this ingredient and its variants will soon follow.
Sesame oil
Doenjang - fermented soy bean paste
Soy sauce
Salt
Garlic
Ginger
Gochugaru - it's a korean pepper and it could be used in flakes, grans or powder
Gochujang - a sauce made from red chilli, glutinous rice, fermented soy beans, barley malt and salt, whose consistency is similar to a pasta.
Napa cabbage - in Italiy it gets called chinese cabbage or Brassica.
Those are just some of the main ingredients at the national level, then, as often happens in various countries, each region or province is characterized by one or more ingredients.
To better understand the evolution of Korean cuisine, we want to talk to you about how it has adapted over the centuries depending on the climate, geographical location and historical eras.
THE EVOLUTION OF COOKING THROUGH GEOGRAPHY
South Korea is located on the Korean Peninsula which borders with China, Northern Russia, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the Strait of Korea. This position is very favorable for the fishing industry. The territory is covered by 70% of mountains and wooded areas that allow cultivation of fruits and vegetables. The main rivers it crosses are the Nakdong River, the Han River and the Geum River, which flow west along the mountain ranges, creating well-developed plains in the western region making rice cultivation favorable.
The great climatic difference that distinguishes each area has allowed regional and provincial diversification of the cuisine despite the great development of transport and the ever faster connections between the regions. Some products remain “unique” and can only be found in their place of origin.
THE EVOLUTION OF COOKING THROUGH THE CLIMATE
Seasonality is a very present feature in food products such as vegetables and fruit, in fact most of the products, although they can be grown throughout the year, often take on different colors and tastes based on harvesting period. In some cases, although it is the same plant, the name of the fruit or vegetable can also change.
Seasonality has also brought a distinct difference in what can be called winter or summer dishes. In the first case, it is more common to find recipes based on fermented vegetables such as Kimchi and dried fish / meat with a stronger and spicier flavor. In summer / spring, on the other hand, vegetables, fruits and fresh fish will be the most important ones.
THE EVOLUTION OF COOKING THROUGH HISTORY
Each historical era distinguishes the country that lives it and changes its society at different levels, including the cuisine.
PREHISTORY
During the period of Jeulmun pottery (from 800 to 1500 BC), Korean society was divided between hunters and gatherers who dedicated themselves to fishing and hunting and later also to agriculture.
Since the beginning of the Mumun pottery period (1500 BC), agriculture begins to develop thanks to migrants from Manchuria. Cultivations of millet, barley, wheat, legumes and rice begin to spread faster and faster without abandoning hunting or fishing.
There are archaeological findings that suggest that the use of fermented soybeans and the breeding / domestication of animals also developed during the Mumun period.
PERIOD OF THE THREE KINGDOMS
The first kingdom is that of Goguryeo located in the northern part of the peninsula along a large part of present Manchuria. The second kingdom, that of Baekje, was located in the south-western part of the peninsula, and the third, that of Silla in the south-eastern part of the peninsula and each kingdom was characterized by its own culture, even at the culine level. One example among many is the Baekje Kingdom where cold and fermented foods were consumed daily.
PERIODO GORYEOGORYEO PERIOD
One of the historical facts that distinguish this period is the Mongol invasion in the 13th century which brought cultural changes with it even in Korean kitchens and bringing some dishes to the present day. Mandu, the Korean ravioli, are a perfect example of this contamination, but so are the grilled meat dishes, pasta and the use of black pepper as a spice.
PERIODO JOSEON JOSEON PERIOD
This was a period of great agricultural growth thanks to several inventions that helped farmers to take care of their plantations. The invention of the rain gauge of all was very useful, helping those who worked in the countryside to better understand if their crops had received the right ratio of water. The government also published and made available to all a series of manuals on agriculture so that they would be useful to the country and its growth. Among these Manuals there was also the "Nongsa jikseol" a book written by King SeJong.
In the same historical period, during about the first half of it, the initiation of exchanges with Europe, the Philippines, China and Japan was of important matter , which brought within the peninsula new and increasingly advanced agricultural techniques and above all new products such as : tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts and pumpkins that we can find today in many Korean recipes.
With the arrival of new non-indigenous products, the government began to finance and tax agricultural crops less, thus helping them more with their development and promoting trade with all the internal regions of the country but also with other states or continents. South Korea was thus led, mainly thanks to government encouragement, to enter into increasingly solid trade agreements reaching as far as the United States.
This "opening" to other continents has led to further contamination in Korean cuisine where condiments imported from Japan or alcohol from China begin to take over.
FROM THE COLONIAL PERIOD TO TODAY
From 1910 to 1945 the Korean peninsula became a Japanese colony and one of Korea's main purposes became that of a"food producer" for Japan. The Japanese imported their agricultural techniques, their habits and customs into the country, distorting it to say the least in some aspects.
If before the colonization the Korean peninsula was characterized by small farms and agriculture, from the arrival of the Japanese all this was led to an almost real and large-scale agri-food industry. Agricultural production, especially rice, increased considerably as they had to be able to supply the right quantities to the army of the Japanese Empire.
During the Japanese occupation, the eating habits of Koreans were also forced to change. Accustomed to eating two to three meals a day, the Koreans were divided into class and based on their belonging to one of them it was decided how much food a person could have.
For the lower classes it was almost impossible to find rice and they would probably be able to eat it only once a year, in the remaining days their diet consisted of millet and barley and two / three meals a day were not guaranteed. It was different for the middle and upper classes where Western foods such as white bread or other wheat-based products began to become common in their eating habits. From here also began the spread of precooked noodles.
With the defeat of Japan during the Second World War, Korean oppression also disappeared but Korea remained in a state of turmoil, as evidenced by the Korean War (1950-1953) which divided South Korea from that of North. During this period, the already limited food supplies decreased drastically and the population was led to the consumption of increasingly poorer dishes. An example is what in Italian we can define "the military stew" the Budae Jiigae, a stew whose ingredients include the use of poor meat, scraps or the American SPAM.
Since the division of the Korean peninsula into Northern and Southern many economic and social aspects have changed bringing with it a change also in the diets of Koreans.
Starting in 1960, the industrialization of South Korea had a fast and dynamic advance that gave the basis to the strong economic growth that today characterizes the country. The use of commercial fertilizers and new technologies in 1970 had almost completely filled the deficit created by the wars in relation to food supplies. Consumption of precooked foods,in boxes and instantaneous it became part of daily life by increasing its marketing inside and outside the country. The industrialization of farms, dairies and farms was also of great impact, leading to an increase in the late 1970s in per capita consumption not only of dairy products and derivatives but also of meat which reached 11 kg per person. (Nd. In 1961, the annual consumption of meat per person was only 3.6kg).
The spread of meat, available to everyone at an affordable price, led to the rapid spread of the Bulgogi, the steakhouses that you often see in many dramas, thus also offering the possibility to the population to increase the consumption of meat and to insert it regularly. in the diet. Together with the consumption of meat, the consumption of fish has also increased considerably, especially fresh or frozen (not dried as it was already in great use).
Paradoxically, rice, which has been the staple of the Korean diet for centuries, has seen in recent years an increasingly constant decrease in daily consumption with a consequent increase in the consumption of bread and pasta.
@written by Jae-Hwa
translated by Miridora
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