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By Andrew Salmon
Contributing Writer
From ships to chips, from cellphones to sedans, Korea is an export Olympian, but the hottest product may be yet to come: local grub.
Or so the government hopes. Seoul reportedly plans to quadruple the number of Forbes, The South China Morning Korean
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This sounds dodgy to me.
Absent increased demand (popularity) increasing supply (all the above) is pointless.
As of now ― perhaps due to the clannishness of Korean communities abroad _ Korean cuisine has not achieved the mass global acceptance that Chinese, Indian, Italian and Mexican enjoy. And promoting Korean food exports? Get real! The agricultural sector here is a disaster, local food prices outrageous ― and if exported, logistics expenses would add yet higher costs. There is a market for specialized produce (e.g. ginseng) but why would a Korean restaurateur in, say, Los Angeles, buy Korean garlic for his kimchi rather than local produce? (Want it ready-made? China does it cheaper than Korea, which suffered a kimchi deficit of $77 million between 2004-2007.)
So: I suggest a campaign to publicize the delights of ― rather than promote the exports of ― Korean cuisine.
Government may not be up to the job. Although companies here know how to market, in my experience, the public sector lacks creativity, marketing expertise and international outlook. An international campaign, then, should be managed by professionals ― i.e. a multinational agency.
Research must be the start point. What Korean grub do overseas diners enjoy? What don't they enjoy? Only after this has been discovered can a campaign be planned. (Is research underway? I fear not.)
What marketing communications should be employed? An ad campaign seems inappropriate ― what would be advertised? Restaurants? Ingredients? Recipes? Food suppliers? A Web site containing all the above? Not terribly compelling, and such things should be promoted by private players, not government. Hence, I suggest a PR focus.
There is already interest. Joe MacPherson of the Zenkimchi Korea Food Journal blog has been approached by the New York Times, LA Times and Bon Appetit magazine. My other half has just finished a project for the Discovery channel. Chosun Ilbo food critic Kim Sung-yoon recently hosted famed barbeque author Jamie Purviance.
Food/lifestyle reporters can be invited on Korean culinary tours, and sent ingredients and recipes. The key influencers ― internationally bestselling cookbook writers and celebrity chefs ― can be approached via agents and production companies. Desired result? Have them endorse Korean ingredients and recipes on shows and in books. Picture Anthony Bourdain dining on dog in a Seoul back alley; Keith Floyd staggering around drunk on makgeolli; Jamie Oliver espousing the benefits of fermented soybean for school lunches; and the magnificent bosom of Nigella Lawson dangling over a pot of jjigae.
Ultimately, Korea must give birth to its own star chef and/or cookbook writer. Not some boring old fart waffling reverentially about traditional cuisine; not some buffoon from a gag show; but someone who knows and loves food, has bags of character and can present compellingly. I'd nominate ex-Gaon chef and food channel presenter Yoon Jung-jin ― but he needs to be imprisoned in an English hagwon for at least a year, as language ability is critical. The ideal candidate thus could be a Korean-American. Once a face is chosen and a production company engaged, the show needs international airtime. Koreans have flogged film and soap opera globally, so the sales talent is here to get it on Discovery or National Geographic.
What, then, are the brand values and niche products of Korean cuisine?
Currently, there is an unhealthy emphasis on healthiness. In the 1960s and 70s Korea food was healthy ― though that is true of rustic diets in most developing nations. No longer. Today's dishes are so overloaded with spice, salt and flavor enhancer (MSG) that Koreans suffer some of the world's highest stomach and intestinal cancer rates. While Korean cuisine does not spawn the obesity, which is the bane of American diets, emphasizing alleged health-giving properties is, at best, disingenuous. And consider human nature. People select foods based primarily on taste, not health ― as the popularity of murderously unhealthy foodstuffs attests.
Let's demolish another shibboleth. Kimchi should not be the flagship of any campaign ― yet indications are that it is. ``Those promoting kimchi don't have the point of view of the consumer,'' said the Chosun's Kim, who has attended government sessions. ``They are thinking in terms of the Korean view, they don't think about what others want.'' I concur. Kimchi is iconic, but it is neither recipe, dish nor standalone product: It is a condiment. India is famed for curries ― not chutneys; Germany for beers ― not sauerkraut. Moreover, kimchi is an acquired taste. And it smells, powerfully. This makes it unacceptable in many foreign refrigerators, kitchens and restaurants.
The campaign focus needs to brand Korean cuisine's differentiated merits. It offers an idiosyncratic blend of strong flavors (garlic, chili, pickles, soy sauce, sesame oil and pickles) and strong colors (oranges, greens, yellows, browns). It boasts seasonal variety and is excitingly spiced. The food is hearty, robust drinking is part of the experience, and dining manners are convivial and informal. All are strong pluses.
Yet according to my sources, Royal Court cuisine is an early focus of promotional efforts. Say it ain't so! This is over-priced, over-presented, over-formal and over-complicated. It is unrepresentative and would compete with the Japanese internationally. ``Many of the world's best foods came from the creativity of peasants making do with what they had on hand,'' says zenkimchi's McPherson, noting that Japan already occupies the international high-end Asian niche ― but there is, as yet, no Asian comfort food. ``Korea 's peasant food traditions fill a void that's missing from the Western imagination. Sadly, it seems that the government's idea of promoting Korean cuisine is copying the Japanese model of presentation before flavor.''
So what should be the centerpiece? Italian, Chinese and Japanese cuisines were first popularized via a limited range of dishes. A dish or recipe, rather than an ingredient, condiment or table d'haute needs to be prioritized. Lacking any research, I will enlist gut instinct and suggest ``sutbul'' (tabletop chargrill).
``Sutbul'' offers not only per se dishes (``bulgogi,'' ``galbi,'' ``samgyeopsal,'' etc) and recipes (OK, marinades), but it is also an experience; one reason tequila won American acceptance was its unusual drinking method (ie with a dash of salt and lemon). So too with sutbul: Communal cooking at the table is, as fondue and hotpot prove, highly marketable. Moreover, everyone loves barbeque: It is in our DNA, the Stone Age basis of all cooking. It offers cross-sell opportunities: If, say, galbi is the main event, kimchi or ``doenjang'' stews can be appetizers, together with side dishes (pindaektok, pajeon, etc) and condiments (kimchi). Sauces (doenjang, ``gochujang'') can be offered and sold as takeouts. And it is not exclusively carnivorous: The Chosun's Kim took Purviance to a grilled eel restaurant. Strong flavors overpower wine, so Korea's varied tipples can be co-marketed.
Moreover, sutbul's various elements suggest fusion possibilities; e.g. galbi burgers, gochujang pizza toppings, cheese-topped doenjang soups, etc. This is critical. While Koreans insist on authentic Korean food, cuisines that successfully globalize mutate: chop suey is alien to Chinese tables; spaghetti and meatballs to Italian. This has not happened with Korean, but is a normal and healthy process, for once popularity is won, gourmets and later the mass market, seek out the original.
Korean cuisine's idiosyncrasies, fieriness and conviviality reflect its creators. Koreans are one of the world most economically successful peoples. If promoted professionally, their food has a chance to shine, winning Korea goodwill by infiltrating stomachs worldwide.
I watch developments with interest.
• The prerequirement of any campaign must be international research (Foreigners in Korea already have accultured taste-buds) • A multinational marketing communications agency should be retained. (Local bureaucrats lack creativity and international viewpoint) • Focus on PR rather than advertising. (This builds on an existing base of interest, and the subject of ads is unclear) • Focus on publicizing Korean cuisine, rather than promoting Korean food exports. (The former is achieveable; the latter, due to agricultural sector inefficiencies, is not, bar niche products) • Enlist international celebrity chefs and cookbook writers to market ingredients, dishes and recipes. (And create a Korean/Korean-American celeb chef/cookbook writer) • Focus on tastiness, not alleged healthiness. (Health statistics suggest today’s Korean food is far from healthy) • Kimchi should be part of the campaign, not its central focus. (It a condiment, not a standalone dish; is an acquired taste; and in foreign restaurants, kitchens and dining tables, could cause olfactory offense) • Focus on Korean cuisine’s differentiated merits. (Strong flavors and seasoning; colorful presentation; informally served and eaten) • Do not focus on high-end, Royal Court cuisine. (It is unrepresentative of the above, and is complicated, expensive, and overly formal) • Emphasize sutbul (It is an experience rather than simply a meal; barbeque is universally popular; and it offers a strong base of cross-sell potential.) • Rather than promoting only ``authentic’’ Korean cuisine, prepare for and welcome fusion mutations. (This is a natural result of market-specific preferences, and will later lead gourmets to the original source ― and thus greater popularity for Korean ingredients, recipes and dishes.) |
Englishman Andrew Salmon, 42, is a Seoul-based journalist who covers the Koreas for Post, The Times and The Washington Times. For ten years, he wrote restaurant reviews for local English language newspapers, and with his wife, food critic and restaurant consultant Kang Ji-young, co-authored the 2002 restaurant guide Seoul Food Finder. He is the author of ``American Business and the Korean Miracle: US Enterprises in Korea , 1866-The Present’’ (2003) and ``To The Last Round: The Epic British Stand on the Imjin River , Korea , 1951’’ (March, 2009). |
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