Korean Food
By Steve Power
Did I really see the first lady on CNN promoting Korean food by putting her hands in the dish to add flavor? May I suggest that the taste of hands should not form part of the strategy to make Korean food more popular around the world?
I believe that a Korean restaurant I visited in Auckland has a better strategy. Unlike other Korean restaurants in that city, this one is popular. It is popular because it knows what the customers there want and it serves them great food. They have thought carefully about the ambience.
The food is served on a large, single dish, but there are some small, interesting side dishes that look appealing. It doesn't look like a typical Korean restaurant. Their focus is on being a successful restaurant, not an exporter of Korean culture.
Typical Korean restaurants in Auckland look very similar to those here in Seoul. They are clean, functional, have uninspiring d?cor, cheap plastic water pitchers and unhelpful menus with poor English. Unless you are familiar with the dishes they serve and know what to do, it's easier to go elsewhere.
This is why the only customers at these restaurants are Korean or are with Korean friends. They have retained the authenticity but they struggle to attract non-Korean customers. If they are successful catering to their Korean customers then why should they change?
The success of promoting Korean food overseas depends on understanding various markets. The Auckland market will be different from that of London. This is up to the individual restaurant owners.
If more restaurant owners adopt a business plan to target the non-Korean local market in cities around the world, then Korean food will become more popular with non-Koreans. I have read a lot about the plans to promote Korean food but I have seen very little consideration regarding the market. What do people in a particular city want when they go out to a restaurant?
Korean companies have proven that they can market goods overseas. Hyundai is successful because it knows what car buyers around the world want. I doubt that their executives are on committees trying to determine which elements of Korean culture are important for their products. I doubt that Indian food around the world has benefited from ``Masala" festivals in provincial India. China has a tradition of central planning, but I doubt that Chinese food is popular because of food education initiatives and guidelines from the government.
When I go out to dinner with friends, we don't want to feel uncomfortable or unsure about what we are eating. We want to relax and eat good food. We don't go out for dinner for cultural education. Yes, I understand that there is a close link between culture and food, especially in Korea. Perhaps the connection between Korean food and culture is so close that it is in fact a hindrance in efforts to establish it overseas.
Most people are happy to learn something new, but perhaps just a couple of cultural elements are enough for a night out. A totally authentic cultural and culinary experience is not sought, nor required.
When someone leaves this country to start a business they may not have the awareness or skills to successfully compete in the tough restaurant trade of other cities. Perhaps, then, the safest thing to do is target the Koreans living overseas. It's not easy to strike the right balance between authenticity and the kind of dining experience people want, but this is the only way Korean food will achieve broader acceptance.
Officials pondering about ingredient standardization won't cook up the recipe for success.
The writer has lived in Korea for about five years and began teaching English at Kyung Hee Middle School in September. He is from Auckland, New Zealand, and can be reached at stevenpnz@yahoo.com.