Which dish would represent Seoul?

Doubt rises over how to select representative food

By Kim Se-jeong

Jeonju in South Jeolla Province has claimed ownership of bibimbap, a mixed bowl of rice with vegetables. Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, took dakgalbi, chicken with spicy sauce and vegetables, and Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province claimed budae jjigae, a stew of ham, vegetables and noodles originally made with foreign items discarded by U.S. Army bases.

Now, Seoul wants its own to attract more tourists to the city.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Thursday, it formed a 12-person committee to select a list of iconic Seoul dishes and had its first meeting early this month. The committee members include a famous food columnist, a Chinese diplomat, chefs, journalists and food historians.

The city says the initiative is important to make Seoul more attractive to tourists, especially from China. City data showed 57.5 percent of tourists who came to Seoul last year chose food as a reason for visiting. A separate survey showed 47.3 percent of visitors to Seoul looked forward to its cuisine the most.

The problem is no one knows what dishes represent the capital.

“I don’t know what represents Seoul when it comes to food,” one blogger said.

As the capital of the Joseon Kingdom for more than six centuries, Seoul was a place where people converged from all parts of the country, bringing their own cuisines with them. The Cultural Institute of Traditional Food also said on its website that Seoul has no culinary specialty of its own.

“How many dishes can represent Seoul?” said Kim Min-ji, a chef at Min’s Kitchen, a Korean restaurant in southern Seoul. “It’s hard to find dishes that originated in Seoul. And people will look at them, when selected, suspiciously.”

A city official said, “We are aware of this challenge, and that’s why we have all these experts on the committee.” He added that the committee will first define Seoul’s delicacies and look into all options, including street food such as tteokbokki, rice cakes in a spicy sauce.

The initiative is also receiving criticism for being too oriented to Chinese tourists, as a Chinese diplomat was included on the committee.

“If the list targets only a certain group of people, the food won’t really represent the city,” another Internet user wrote, reflecting a popular sentiment.

But the city official said they would select dishes that could represent Seoul for anyone who visits the city, not just for Chinese tourists.

Some also criticized that a top-down approach may be inappropriate for selecting a representative food.

“This is so artificial and will push people to choose certain things,” one blogger wrote. “There’s no such thing as Seoul food. That’s how it is. The government should stop making things up.”

Some added their own ideas. One suggested, “What about making categorizations? For example, a list of the 10 most spicy dishes, medium-spicy dishes and most-favored dishes by international travelers?” Another suggested, “What’s special about Seoul is districts having their own famous foods. This can help tour operators make tour packages out of this.”