Korea, Japan find friendship at dining table

Visitors look at imitation Korean and Japanese food during the “Exchange of Food Culture on the Table” exhibition at the National Folk Museum of Korea in central Seoul on Dec. 9. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

When Korea opened Busan Port in 1876 under the Korea-Japan Treaty, Japanese foods began to enter Korea. Now it is common for people to visit each other’s country and enjoy food new to them.

The National Folk Museum of Korea (NFMK) in central Seoul sheds light on the history of food exchanges between Japan and Korea over the past century, featuring 250 artifacts showing the changes in the dining cultures of the two countries, such as electric rice cookers, food-themed comic books, food replicas and video clips.

Titled “Exchange of Food Culture on the Table,” the exhibition began last Wednesday. It is a joint exhibition between the NFMK and the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Japanese museum already completed its own version of the food exchange-themed exhibit at Osaka this past summer.

Comprised of seven different themes, visitors can embark on food-themed travels of the two countries ranging from imported cuisine and ingredients to cooking utensils.

Once visiting the exhibition, visitors may realize that it is meaningless to distinguish the origin of a certain food as they are localized upon the tastes of the consumers of each country.

“We would like to provide an opportunity to people to understand how a foreign dish becomes localized and forms its own identity in different countries,” the folk museum’s curator Kim Chang-ho said.

As the curator explained, curried rice, which is rooted in India, was introduced to Japan from Western countries and it was introduced in Korea through Japan. “Tonkatsu,” or fried pork cutlet, also can find its origin in Western countries, but it is now a famous Japanese dish in Korea as well.

Though there is an argument whether the origin of “gimbap” (rice rolled in dried seaweed with various fillings) comes from Japan’s “futomaki” (rolled sushi) or Korea’s local waterfront regions, gimbap is recognized as one of the most popular Korean foods in Japan nowadays.

For an inverse example, there is “yakiniku” or grilled meat, which is recognized as a variant of Korean-style barbecued beef. The exhibit displays a slew of yakiniku sauces called “tare.”

Technology adds amusement

Visitors will find extra amusement from cutting-edge technology used at the exhibition as well.

At the entrance, there are two videos, one featuring a Korean woman, and the other a Japanese woman, eating home cooked meals from their respective country’s, which present a visual contrast. The Korean woman starts scoops up steamed rice with a spoon, while the Japanese woman eats rice using chopsticks holding the rice bowl close to her mouth.

At each section of the exhibition, there are various audiovisual displays that get visitors hungry, such as the sizzling sound of grilling meat at the yakiniku display.

The curator said they had to put more emphasis on visual effects as it is difficult to organize a food-themed exhibit without real food.

Another incredible example utilizing technology is a small room showing people eating Korean foods in a restaurant in Japan and vice-versa.

Once visitors click the screen, videos showing people enjoying the Korean barbeque dish “samgyeopsal” (grilled pork belly) at a restaurant in Yokohama, Japan, and people drinking at a Japanese style pub called “Izakaya” in Seoul are played.

The exhibition runs through Feb. 29, next year. The folk museum is located inside the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.nfm.go.kr.