Recently I was looking for some Korean cultural resources for teaching about Korea and I came across the Korean Cultural Service (http://www.koreanculture.org/04online_lib/online_lib.html) through the Korean Consulate in New York City. They were exceptionally kind and generous about sending me a whole bunch of teaching resources (to the school I work at in the US).
Among the treasures received was a slim and unassuming book by Dr. David R. Carter, who according to the inside cover, has been teaching in Korea since 1991 and has written many articles for Korea Times, Korea Herald, and The Daily Telegraph (London).
The title of the book is Food For Thought: Reflections on Korean Cuisine and Culture and is published by the Agricultual and Fishery Marketing Corporation (no copywrite date), 199 pp., ISBN 89-88747-07-0 (An ISBN search turned up a copy on biblio.com but noted it was scarce)
I am a huge fan of Korean food and during the four years I was in Korea I kept lots of mnotes on all the various foods I had tried (which was a lot). Dr. Carter has taken the whole concept even further and his book details the various classifications of Korean food with their historical background, ingredients and cultural perpsectives, even sprinking in various Korean Language idioms and food-related phrases for better understanding.
The Best Things About this Book
- He does a really nice job of detailing the various differences in a lot of foods that even many Koreans would have a hard time explaining the differences, like the differences between the various types of kimchee, differences between gook/tang/jjigye and so on. He makes it easy and quick to figure that stuff out.
- He shows a lot of the food from a cultural perspective, getting into where/when/why this food is eaten and what influences may have shaped it. He also gets into the anju culture as well as details omn some foods you'd only encounter during ceremonies.
-As a small, pocket-sized book, it really is quick and clean to read and is loaded with pictures and the (romanized) Korean terms for everything you might run into, even to listing specific regions of cities to get the best examples.
-Armed with this book and basic knowledge of how to get around in Korea, you really would have a step up omn exploring the wonderful foods of Korea and wouldn't be stuck eating bibimbap and bulgeogi everyday!
Weak Parts of the Book
- He mentions that the book was developed from a series of articles and this is very clear. The transition from topic to topic can be a bit choppy and there are places where the chapter introductions are "copy and pasted" into the middle of the chapters. A little bit more polish and "fitting" would make the chapter flow better. The parts like that are pretty easy to skip through though and shouldn't be a deterrant to getting this book.
- My biggest complaint is that he doesn't use any Hangeul (or Hanja) for the food terms. The Romanization is pretty good but having the Hangeul would make this book an even better research for study and travel.
Regardless, this is the best book on Korean food I have and even though it may not have the depth of a cookbook or the scale of my coffee-table Kimchee book, the material is on the spot practical for travel and a great read for anyone who is interested in Korean food and language and culture.
For more info on the Agricultual and Fishery Marketing Corporation
see the excellent resource site at http://www.agrafood.co.kr/
Also, check out http://www.agrotrade.net/app/servlet/RequestProcessor?event=BizCenterKoreanFoodCulture.Click&selMenu=b&mkmart=m
and
http://www.at.or.kr/tp0500/tp0506/se060200/se060200.html
Among the treasures received was a slim and unassuming book by Dr. David R. Carter, who according to the inside cover, has been teaching in Korea since 1991 and has written many articles for Korea Times, Korea Herald, and The Daily Telegraph (London).
The title of the book is Food For Thought: Reflections on Korean Cuisine and Culture and is published by the Agricultual and Fishery Marketing Corporation (no copywrite date), 199 pp., ISBN 89-88747-07-0 (An ISBN search turned up a copy on biblio.com but noted it was scarce)
I am a huge fan of Korean food and during the four years I was in Korea I kept lots of mnotes on all the various foods I had tried (which was a lot). Dr. Carter has taken the whole concept even further and his book details the various classifications of Korean food with their historical background, ingredients and cultural perpsectives, even sprinking in various Korean Language idioms and food-related phrases for better understanding.
The Best Things About this Book
- He does a really nice job of detailing the various differences in a lot of foods that even many Koreans would have a hard time explaining the differences, like the differences between the various types of kimchee, differences between gook/tang/jjigye and so on. He makes it easy and quick to figure that stuff out.
- He shows a lot of the food from a cultural perspective, getting into where/when/why this food is eaten and what influences may have shaped it. He also gets into the anju culture as well as details omn some foods you'd only encounter during ceremonies.
-As a small, pocket-sized book, it really is quick and clean to read and is loaded with pictures and the (romanized) Korean terms for everything you might run into, even to listing specific regions of cities to get the best examples.
-Armed with this book and basic knowledge of how to get around in Korea, you really would have a step up omn exploring the wonderful foods of Korea and wouldn't be stuck eating bibimbap and bulgeogi everyday!
Weak Parts of the Book
- He mentions that the book was developed from a series of articles and this is very clear. The transition from topic to topic can be a bit choppy and there are places where the chapter introductions are "copy and pasted" into the middle of the chapters. A little bit more polish and "fitting" would make the chapter flow better. The parts like that are pretty easy to skip through though and shouldn't be a deterrant to getting this book.
- My biggest complaint is that he doesn't use any Hangeul (or Hanja) for the food terms. The Romanization is pretty good but having the Hangeul would make this book an even better research for study and travel.
Regardless, this is the best book on Korean food I have and even though it may not have the depth of a cookbook or the scale of my coffee-table Kimchee book, the material is on the spot practical for travel and a great read for anyone who is interested in Korean food and language and culture.
For more info on the Agricultual and Fishery Marketing Corporation
see the excellent resource site at http://www.agrafood.co.kr/
Also, check out http://www.agrotrade.net/app/servlet/RequestProcessor?event=BizCenterKoreanFoodCulture.Click&selMenu=b&mkmart=m
and
http://www.at.or.kr/tp0500/tp0506/se060200/se060200.html