By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Following the success of ``Noodle Road,'' another television documentary program on food is waiting to impress local viewers during ``Chuseok.''
This time, it's about stories of Korean cuisine, or ``hansik,'' and its restaurants that are making their way into other countries.
Under the title ``Hansik Odyssey,'' which will be aired on SBS on Oct. 4, the program will delve into the possibility of Korean cuisine's globalization and suggest strategies for that purpose by analyzing various cases of Korean eateries that have successfully settled in foreign markets, the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation said Tuesday.
Pierre Gagnaire, a worldly renowned French chef and operator of a Michelin three-star restaurant in Paris, will be the presenter of the documentary that will introduce four key messages of hansik globalization: consideration for locals, serving Korean culture not just food, creativity of dishes and standardization. It will also explore some Korean restaurants in the French capital.
Consideration of locals requires Korean restaurants to adjust to the needs and tastes of foreign customers. In an exemplary case, Gagnaire will introduce ``Woojeong'' (friendship), a Paris-based Korean restaurant that has a wine collection in an attempt to add a French touch to its traditional style hansik menus.
Also featured in the section is ``Woorijip'' (our house), a fast-food style Korean food eatery in New York, where customers can have various dishes buffet-style.
The second message of the program is that Korean restaurants are a place that serves Korean culture, not just dishes. Leading that part will be two places in Beijing.
``Daejanggeum,'' a place specializing in bibimbap, or rice mixed with vegetable and Korean chili sauce, has so far held events for traditional Korean culture over 50 times, and is having sampling events on a regular basis.
``Suraon,'' a high-end institution serving a variety of royal cuisine dishes, has gained a reputation as an upgraded version of traditional Korean restaurants and is a premium place for business meetings with its classy atmosphere and full-course meals.
In an extension of the first key word, the documentary will introduce unique and creative variations of authentic Korean food across the globe.
``Makgeoli,'' Korea's traditional rice wine, which is booming in Japan, is one of the latest fads, and is being served in many diverse cocktails. In the United States, ``Kogi Korean BBQ To-Go'' and ``B-Bap Fusion Rice Bar'' are making a splash in Los Angeles and New York, respectively, with their differentiated items ― kimchi tacos, Korean barbecue and custom-made bibimbap dishes.
Standardization means the inevitable mission for hansik to make inroads into overseas markets, which will be featured in the cases of Korean Air and the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF).
Korean Air, which serves quality in-flight meals, prepares ``bibimguksu'' (noodles mixed with vegetables and Korean chili sauce) and bibimbap through fine-calibrated standardization of cooking.
The ITKF succeeded this year in standardizing recipes of some 300 traditional Korean dishes, after three years of research.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
