ID :
43000
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 14:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/43000
The shortlink copeid
(Yonhap Feature) Nutritious and increasingly trendy, more Korean foods go international
SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- It has not yet been widely consumed outside of the country, but there are plenty of traits that make Korean food distinguishable among popular global cuisines. It is low fat, largely based on vegetables, and as far from the ubiquitous McDonald's as food can be.
Last year, the U.S. magazine Health selected Korean kimchi, fermented cabbage or
radish, as one of the world's healthiest foods alongside Spanish olive oil,
Japanese soy and Indian lentils.
"The super-spicy condiment is part of a high-fiber, low-fat diet that has kept
obesity at bay in Korea," the magazine said. "Loaded with vitamins A, B and C,
its biggest benefit is the 'healthy bacteria' that help with digestion, stop and
prevent yeast infections as well as the growth of cancer."
Miyeokguk, Korea's traditional seaweed soup, is also gaining popularity among new
mothers in the United States as part of a nutritious post-childbirth diet.
More than half of the new mothers recovering at the Queen of Angels-Hollywood
Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles order the restorative soup, and many
post-childbirth centers in the region have been inquiring about it, officials
said.
"We serve about 100 bowls of seaweed soup a day, and about half of those go to
non-Korean patients," said Kim Chun-bok, an executive director for Korea's CHA
Medical Group which took over the medical center last year. "Rich in calcium and
iodine, the soup is effective in contracting the uterus and stopping bleeding for
new mothers."
So the food has been proven healthy, but how well known is it abroad?
According to the Korea Food Service Industry, there are approximately 1,350
Korean restaurants in the United States, 1,700 in Japan, 2,500 in China, 170 in
Europe and 50 in Russia -- a poor comparison to the 10,000 Japanese restaurants
in the United States and nearly 25,000 globally.
Despite the ongoing global economic downturn, the world food industry is
estimated to be worth more than $3.5 trillion, a market of great potential,
Seoul's food ministry says. Korea, however, has been slow in making its mark in
the market, showing a moderate growth from $4.3 billion to $6.2 billion over the
eight-year period from 2000.
Aware of the big potential, the South Korean government has been speeding up
efforts to promote its food overseas, hoping to increase the number of Korean
restaurants abroad to 40,000 by 2017.
Training so-called "food diplomats," is one strategy.
Sponsored by the foreign ministry, the Institute of Traditional Korean Food has,
since 2007, been annually training about 15 young chefs who will be sent to
overseas embassies and consulates. The first batch of the trained chefs left for
11 countries, including the United States, England and Germany, in May last year.
"We focus on training the chefs on how the combination of colors and flavors are
the core of traditional Korean food," said Yoon Sook-ja, chief of the institute.
"Our ancestors believed that what is appealing to the eye is good for the mouth."
Most of the Korean diners abroad are doing relatively well.
Momofuku Ssam Bar, a fusion Korean restaurant run by an ethnic Korean, was
introduced by the New York Times in 2007 as one of the city's coolest dining
spots.
As the name suggests, the small restaurant serves Korean ssam -- rice, kimchi,
pork and other ingredients wrapped in lettuce -- as its main menu.
Dubbing ssam "gnocchi with a Korean passport," the paper praised the restaurant's
29-year-old chef and owner David Chang as a "terrific cook whose integration of
Asian flavors and unbound sense of what's delectable make some deliriously
enjoyable meals."
More than 1,000 Korean restaurants have been listed on zagat.com, a U.S. web site
featuring ratings and reviews of over 30,000 dining establishments worldwide,
proving the growing interest in Korean cuisines.
"Bann," a barbecue restaurant in Manhattan, is considered one of the most popular
fusion Korean diners among New Yorkers.
"Great Korean food without having to smell like the meal afterwards," Internet
user Heather C5112 posted on the Zagat web site. "Every dish we ordered including
the Korean BBQ and bibimbap was a real draw. It's a place of Korean fusion --
more fusion than Korean."
With the motto of "less scent and more flavors," the restaurant has made efforts
to adapt its main menu to the Western palate. All the while, it also serves "very
Korean" cuisines including doshirak, a lunchbox with small portions of rice and
side dishes such as seafood dumpling, kimchi and grilled meat, and gimbap --
rice, vegetables and meat wrapped in seaweed.
"Kimchi and bulgogi are good, but they can hardly be dubbed the 'face' of Korean
food," said Lee Suk-young of the Sookmyung Women's University Korean Food
Institute. "The diversity of cuisines, depending on the regions of their origin,
is what makes Korean food special."
"Being Korean, yet very international at the same time -- by learning what
overseas epicures expect -- is the key to success for Korean restaurants outside
home."
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
Last year, the U.S. magazine Health selected Korean kimchi, fermented cabbage or
radish, as one of the world's healthiest foods alongside Spanish olive oil,
Japanese soy and Indian lentils.
"The super-spicy condiment is part of a high-fiber, low-fat diet that has kept
obesity at bay in Korea," the magazine said. "Loaded with vitamins A, B and C,
its biggest benefit is the 'healthy bacteria' that help with digestion, stop and
prevent yeast infections as well as the growth of cancer."
Miyeokguk, Korea's traditional seaweed soup, is also gaining popularity among new
mothers in the United States as part of a nutritious post-childbirth diet.
More than half of the new mothers recovering at the Queen of Angels-Hollywood
Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles order the restorative soup, and many
post-childbirth centers in the region have been inquiring about it, officials
said.
"We serve about 100 bowls of seaweed soup a day, and about half of those go to
non-Korean patients," said Kim Chun-bok, an executive director for Korea's CHA
Medical Group which took over the medical center last year. "Rich in calcium and
iodine, the soup is effective in contracting the uterus and stopping bleeding for
new mothers."
So the food has been proven healthy, but how well known is it abroad?
According to the Korea Food Service Industry, there are approximately 1,350
Korean restaurants in the United States, 1,700 in Japan, 2,500 in China, 170 in
Europe and 50 in Russia -- a poor comparison to the 10,000 Japanese restaurants
in the United States and nearly 25,000 globally.
Despite the ongoing global economic downturn, the world food industry is
estimated to be worth more than $3.5 trillion, a market of great potential,
Seoul's food ministry says. Korea, however, has been slow in making its mark in
the market, showing a moderate growth from $4.3 billion to $6.2 billion over the
eight-year period from 2000.
Aware of the big potential, the South Korean government has been speeding up
efforts to promote its food overseas, hoping to increase the number of Korean
restaurants abroad to 40,000 by 2017.
Training so-called "food diplomats," is one strategy.
Sponsored by the foreign ministry, the Institute of Traditional Korean Food has,
since 2007, been annually training about 15 young chefs who will be sent to
overseas embassies and consulates. The first batch of the trained chefs left for
11 countries, including the United States, England and Germany, in May last year.
"We focus on training the chefs on how the combination of colors and flavors are
the core of traditional Korean food," said Yoon Sook-ja, chief of the institute.
"Our ancestors believed that what is appealing to the eye is good for the mouth."
Most of the Korean diners abroad are doing relatively well.
Momofuku Ssam Bar, a fusion Korean restaurant run by an ethnic Korean, was
introduced by the New York Times in 2007 as one of the city's coolest dining
spots.
As the name suggests, the small restaurant serves Korean ssam -- rice, kimchi,
pork and other ingredients wrapped in lettuce -- as its main menu.
Dubbing ssam "gnocchi with a Korean passport," the paper praised the restaurant's
29-year-old chef and owner David Chang as a "terrific cook whose integration of
Asian flavors and unbound sense of what's delectable make some deliriously
enjoyable meals."
More than 1,000 Korean restaurants have been listed on zagat.com, a U.S. web site
featuring ratings and reviews of over 30,000 dining establishments worldwide,
proving the growing interest in Korean cuisines.
"Bann," a barbecue restaurant in Manhattan, is considered one of the most popular
fusion Korean diners among New Yorkers.
"Great Korean food without having to smell like the meal afterwards," Internet
user Heather C5112 posted on the Zagat web site. "Every dish we ordered including
the Korean BBQ and bibimbap was a real draw. It's a place of Korean fusion --
more fusion than Korean."
With the motto of "less scent and more flavors," the restaurant has made efforts
to adapt its main menu to the Western palate. All the while, it also serves "very
Korean" cuisines including doshirak, a lunchbox with small portions of rice and
side dishes such as seafood dumpling, kimchi and grilled meat, and gimbap --
rice, vegetables and meat wrapped in seaweed.
"Kimchi and bulgogi are good, but they can hardly be dubbed the 'face' of Korean
food," said Lee Suk-young of the Sookmyung Women's University Korean Food
Institute. "The diversity of cuisines, depending on the regions of their origin,
is what makes Korean food special."
"Being Korean, yet very international at the same time -- by learning what
overseas epicures expect -- is the key to success for Korean restaurants outside
home."
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
