| Korea's Food Ambassador
For the last decade, the word, globalization, has been the keyword that best describes the 21st century that we currently live in. With lots of trade barriers between individual countries removed, nations began sharing their cultures, traditions, and languages with neighboring countries. When we think about the word globalization or the global market, Koreans usually associate it with K-pop or some Korean singers who have successfully managed to create plenty of fans in parts of Europe and other Asian countries, including Taiwan, Japan, and China. However, I want to emphasize a completely different part of Korean culture which I believe can create an enormous demand in the global market, which is Korean food. In the future, I want to play an important part in globalizing Korean food by becoming Korea's food ambassador.
I strongly believe that food has the power to move people's hearts and to even get them interested in another culture or country. Even in my own case, it has been nearly ten years since I came back to my home country from the state of Michigan, the United States, where I spent my childhood years, but I still dream of going back to that country someday because of the memories of eating their homemade brownies and Mac and cheese which I just cannot forget. Because I so strongly believe in the power of food, I want to use it as a tool to get the global population interested in the Korean culture. My strongest point is that I have traveled around many countries and have tried many of their most famous traditional cuisines, which allowed me to open my eyes to combination of certain ingredients that can capture people's taste.
What makes Korean food attractive to people worldwide is that a lot of Korean traditional dishes are rich in nutrients and flavors but low in calories. Although there is a lot of meat consumed in Korea as well, Koreans usually go for a different cooking technique by boiling the meat rather than grilling or frying it, resulting in much healthier dishes. Also, they are usually served with a lot of vegetables, so people can enjoy nutritionally balanced meals. There are a couple of Korean dishes that I strongly want to recommend which I believe can capture the taste of foreigners overseas. But above all, I want to recommend Bossam, which is boiled pork cooked inside soybean paste for few hours and usually served with freshly made Kimchi. What I find appealing about this dish is that it does not require any special ingredients that are hard to obtain in foreign countries. One of the major problems that Korean restaurants face overseas is their choice of menus which require unique ingredients that can only be found in Korea. Also, most traditional Korean dishes are too complicated and time-consuming to make as they may take up to few hours to cook. So it is important that Korean restaurants overseas sell menus which are easy to make and require ingredients that can easily be found in foreign markets.
Another menu that I want to recommend is Gimbap, which is a very popular menu that Koreans usually eat when they go out on picnics. It is made by rolling rice in a piece of laver, along with strips of fried eggs, spinach, carrots, cucumber, radish, and ham in the center. I have made Gimbaps several times to many of my international friends, but I have never met a single person who did not like it. What is great about Gimbap is that people can choose the ingredients they want to add in their Gimbap according to what suits their taste. Usually, Koreans like to add tuna, Kimchi, or cheese inside. This dish is very easy to make and the ingredients do not cost much, so I believe it can be very appealing to both Koreans and non-Koreans living overseas.
I want to be Korea's food ambassador because I strongly believe that food is a very powerful source which can get people interested in other cultures. When I traveled to parts of Europe, Japan, China, and North America, what I could remember most about these countries upon my return was not the beautiful sceneries I saw there, but rather the unique dishes I tasted. These tastes were so powerful that they remained in my memories for so long and even triggered me to revisit those places. Thus, in order for Korea to exercise greater power in the world market, I believe it is crucial that we focus more on globalizing Korean food.
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Saturday, May 31, 2014
So-eun Yoon/ Why I am qualified for my dream job/ Tuesday34
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Korea’s Food Ambassador
ReplyDeleteFor the last decade, the word, globalization, has been the keyword that best describes the 21st century that we currently live in. With lots of trade barriers between individual countries removed, nations began to share their cultures, traditions, and languages with neighboring countries. When we think about the word globalization or the global market, Koreans usually associate it with K-pop or some Korean singers who have successfully managed to create plenty of fans in parts of Europe and other Asian countries, including Taiwan, Japan, and China. However, I want to emphasize a completely different part of Korean culture which I believe can create an enormous demand in the global market, which is Korean food. In the future, I want to play an important part in globalizing Korean food by becoming Korea’s food ambassador. I believe I have great potential to become one considering my endless affection for Korean food, profound knowledge concerning problems Korean restaurants face abroad, and ingenious ideas that can appeal to foreigners.
I believe that I have great potential to become Korea’s food ambassador because I believe in the power of food and have great affection for Korean food. I strongly believe that food has the power to move people’s hearts and to even get them interested in another culture or country. Even in my own case, it has been nearly ten years since I returned to my home country from the state of Michigan, the United States, where I spent my childhood years, but I still dream of going back to that country someday because of the memories of eating their homemade brownies and mac and cheese, which I just cannot forget. Because I so strongly believe in the power of food, I want to use it as a tool to get the global population interested in Korean food and culture. My strongest point is that I have traveled around many countries and have tried many of their most famous traditional cuisines, which allowed me to open my eyes to ingredients that can capture people’s taste. I want to use my knowledge I gained from my experiences to create ingenious Korean dishes, which can appeal not only to the Korean population living abroad, but also to the locals living in those countries.
Moreover, I am qualified to become Korea’s food ambassador because I am well aware of the problems many Korean restaurants face abroad and the solutions to these problems. One of the major problems Korean restaurants face overseas is in their selection of menus which fail to appeal to foreign customers. Many Koreans dream of selling traditional Korean food to foreigners in order to globalize Korean food, but what they fail to realize is that most foreigners find traditional Korean food too spicy or salty for their taste. For instance, many Koreans consider Kimchi to be their most traditional Korean food, and they plan to sell it to foreigners in foreign markets. However, apart from those who have lived in Korea for many years or have tried Korean food before, most foreigners find Kimchi too spicy and do not favor its taste. Thus, instead of only insisting on selling traditional Korean food to foreign customers, Korean restaurants abroad must try to glocalize their products. Glocalization, which is a mix of globalization and localization, refers to a product that reflects not only global standard but also the local standard. In other words, it means a global product transformed in order to accommodate the needs of local consumers. One very successful case of glocalization is the bulgogi burger currently sold in McDonalds and Burger King. When McDonalds was first introduced to the Korean market, it tried to satisfy the tastes of Korean customers by developing Korean-style burgers such as bulgogi burger and kimchi burger. And now, bulgogi burger has become one of the best-selling burgers in Korea. Another successful example of glocalization is Panda Express, which is a casual fast food restaurant chain serving American Chinese food. Although Panda Express is owned by Peggy and Andrew Cherng who are both Chinese, they have successfully grabbed the taste of American consumers by transforming traditional Chinese food into Americanized menus such as orange chicken, Beijing beef, and Kung Pao chicken. And now, the chain has over 1600 restaurants all over the United States and is one of the largest chains of Asian fast food restaurants worldwide. As such, Koreans who dream about selling Korean food overseas must transform their traditional menus into glocalized ones so that they can capture the taste of the locals living there.
ReplyDeleteFinally, I am the perfect candidate for Korea’s food ambassador because I am full of creative ideas concerning menus that can appeal to foreigners. In my opinion, what makes Korean food attractive to people worldwide is that a lot of Korean dishes are rich in nutrients and flavors but low in calories. Although there is a lot of meat used to cook Korean dishes, Koreans usually go for a different cooking technique by boiling the meat in water rather than grilling or frying it, resulting in much healthier dishes. Also, they are usually served with a lot of vegetables, so people can enjoy nutritionally balanced meals. There are a couple of Korean dishes I strongly want to recommend, which I believe can capture the taste of foreigners overseas. Above all, I want to recommend Bossam, which is boiled pork cooked inside soybean paste for few hours and usually served with freshly made Kimchi. What I find appealing about this dish is that it does not require any special ingredients that are hard to obtain in foreign countries. One big problem Korean restaurants face overseas is their choice of menus which require unique ingredients that can only be found in Korea. Also, most traditional Korean dishes are too complicated and time-consuming to make as they may take up to few hours to cook. So, it is important that Korean restaurants sell menus which are easy to make and only require few ingredients that can easily be found in foreign markets. Another menu that I want to recommend is Gimbap, which is a very popular menu that Koreans usually eat when they go out on picnics. It is made by rolling rice in a piece of laver, along with strips of fried eggs, spinach, carrots, cucumber, radish, and ham in the center. I made Gimbap to many of my international friends, but I have never met a single person who did not like it. What is great about Gimbap is that people can choose the ingredients they want to add in their Gimbap, according to what suits their taste. Usually, Koreans like to add tuna, Kimchi, or cheese inside. This dish is very easy to make and the ingredients do not cost much, so I believe it can be very appealing to both Koreans and non-Koreans living overseas.
ReplyDeleteI believe that I have great potential to become Korea’s food ambassador because I believe in the power of food, am informed about the common problems Korean restaurants face abroad, and can come up with creative ideas. I strongly believe that food is a very powerful source which can get people interested in other cultures. When I traveled to parts of Europe, Japan, China, and North America, what I could remember most about these countries upon my return was not the beautiful sceneries, but rather the unique dishes I had tasted. These tastes were so powerful that they remained in my memories for long and even triggered me to revisit those places. Thus, in order for Korea to exercise greater power in the world market, I believe it is crucial that we focus more on globalizing Korean food.