So, just when I thought the sniveling rivalry between these two culinary aficionados wouldn’t let up, it proves to be holding sway. Says here that Japan’s throwing its weight around by sparking off a new chain of restaurants altering the phonetics of several traditional dishes that are, in fact, Korean. The drama has only just begun.
It’s time for the government, civilians and businesses to pool their efforts to spread Korean cuisine globally.
Checkered flag ain’t ’til the next lap.
35 Comments
Fiends!
Didn’t Italy recall its ambassador after it found out about Chicago-style pizza and Chef Boyardee?
I think ‘largely vegetarian’ in this context means, ‘the typical dish is less than 50% meat’… And nothing really requires deep frying, unless you’re Scottish, where it seems to be some sort of cultural duty.
Konglick,
Settle down. No one is talking about taking stupid and irrational steps to protest their distaste towards Gyu-Kaku or this renaming thing.
I’m serious. People sometimes stawman guys like Pawi for making stupid comments when defending certain Korean views, but no one strawmans people who make equally stupid comments when making fun of Korea and Koreans. It’s starting to rile me.
The Singaporean/Indonesian Gyu Kaku restaurants use Japanese spellings while the US franchises use Korean spellings, a fact the sloppy reporter failed to make clear. Morever, that silly article is misleading, for Gyu Kaku’s menu is a mix of Japanese, Korean, and fusion dishes, not a Korean menu disguised as Japanese.
I want to see the likes of Bevers and Shakuhachi defend Japan against these damning charges:
While Korean restaurant owners are stuck in that mode of business, Japanese companies like Gyu-Kaku are outpacing them by introducing dishes that fit the palates of locals, serving them in sophisticated restaurants, and offering great service as well.
Sonagi, I’d have to say that your post is a tad misleading. I’ve been to a number of Gyu-Kaku and other yakiniku restaurants in Southern California (Manpuku, Tsuruhashi and Anjin) and a bulk of their offerings are Korean inspired. If you took out the Korean inspired dishes then the bulk of the bbq and side dishes disappear.
“when defending certain Korean views”
Let me recall for you my wife’s reaction to the story. “Oh, that’s terrible!” (she was obviously being sarcastic). It’s not bashing Koreans, it making fun of a rather ridiculous story and those who think the majority of Koreans will care.
Japanese eat kimuchi…that’s old fucking news.
I have to say when it comes to report about Japan things related to Japan (and maybe the USA), sometimes (maybe more than sometimes), the Chosun Ilbo and Joonang Ilbo are really silly, pathetic and childish.
@#7:
The article focused on Gyu Kaku. I checked out their LA menu and found it also to be an ecclectic mix of Japanese, Korean, and fusion:
http://www.gyu-kaku.com/monthl.....menu_s.pdf
Maybe you’re mistaking Japanese and fusion dishes like US Kobe beef and basil/teriyaki chicken for “Korean inspired.” I did note that the LA branch lopped the final “p” off “bibimbap.”
Slim,
You make a great point in that they Gyu-Kaku does a better job of marketing Korean bbq better then Koreans.
Sometimes it takes some emotional distance from the source materials for your to adapt to local tastes. For example, the Mexicans would never dream of curving a tostada shell to make a faux taco (as Americans have). Additionally, the Japanese wouldn’t dream of putting salmon or avacados in sushi until it was done in the U.S. first.
Korean food can be very popular globally and it SHOULD be popular globally, however it’s Koreans themselves that are the main stumbling block. They just keep their food traditions too close to the vest by having ethnocentric restaurants that are just too intimidating for outsides to go to alone as well as an inability to think in terms of modifying the foods to suit local tastes. It reminds me of a Wall Street Joural article of a hard working Korean man who was trying to modify kimchi to suit American states by tackling the problem directly and from a decidedly Korean perspective. He would hire family members of American service men as taste testers. The major flaw in his methods is that he incorrectly assumed that Americans would eat kimchi as a major part of every meal instead of as a compliment to foods like an Asian style salsa, a suggestion that the author thought might be more effective.
Today’s editorial, inspired by that earlier report that was low on research and perspective, calls for a national (government?) effort to promote Korean cuisine. Wasn’t that tried with the Korean Wave, with dubious results?
“Slim,
You make a great point in that they Gyu-Kaku does a better job of marketing Korean bbq better then Koreans.”
Wangkon, it was the Chosun Ilbo which wrote that. They were actually praising the Japanese, and mad at Koreans for not being able to keep up. Slim isn’t saying anything new that many Koreans already know.
Sonagi,
The difference is that you are reading a menu whereas I’m actually tasting the food. Take for example “teriyaki” chicken. They way Gyu-Kaku marinades it is more Korean style despite it’s Japanese name with a sugar and garlic content that is rather unjapanese (but still very good).
“Korean cuisine is largely vegetarian, which does not require deep frying. That attribute is what gives Korean cuisine great potential to become more popular around the world among health-conscious eaters.”
To become popular it has to have great taste. Italian food is popular not because it’s healthy, it’s because it’s delicious.
Some Korean food can be healthy, yep…but it will take a long road to adjust the taste (and smell) to please other cultures.
How popular is Vegemite around the world? Or the top healthy Rice&Beans that we eat so much in South and Central America?
I was indeed quoting directly from the Chosun. I should have made that clearer.
I predict a chain of Korean restaurants called U-Gak to start springing up around the world in the wake of the Chosun’s hard-hitting series.
#14,
Adding sugar to soy sauce makes it Korean? What’s next? You’re going to tell me that chicken gumbo is actually takk-dori-ttang?
Just when you think this kind of thing can’t get any crazier…”The High Tide of the Korean Wave III: Why do Asian fans prefer Korean pop culture?”
Unbelievable.
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/.....ntid=86640
The koreans should be tickled pink that japanese restaurant corporations are helping to increase the reach of its cuisine abroad. After all, koreans have been trying for decades to turn korean food into a ‘mainstream’ ethnic cuisine in western nations to very little success. I mean take a look at vietnamese cuisine which was about as obscure an ethnic cuisine could be just 10 years ago. These days the average american ‘food sophisticate’ could name 3 vietnamese dishes while they would be hard pressed to name just 1 korean item beyond kim chee.
anyway, don’t really understand why they would be upset about this. if i were one to really give a rats arse on this sorta rubbish I would just sit back and let the efficient large-scale japanese restaurant corporations continue to expand korean cusines appeal to the average american and then swoop in for the kill after the hard work is done.
#18:
OMG @ that link! There were so many *gag* moments reading through that tripe. Funny stuff though.
As I said before in the other post,
If Koreans want to think of their “udong” as being traditional “udon”, then they really shouldn’t worry about whether or not “yakiniku” comes originally from “kalbi” or “purukogi”, etc. Also, if Koreans want to think of their “ddonkachu” as the original “tonkatsu”, then that’s fine too. Seriously, what is the big deal?
You say kimbap, I say maki-zushi..you say chobap, I say nigiri-zushi. Who cares?
Besides, even though yakiniku style bbq may have originated from kalbi and pulkogi, the two have very different tastes and serving styles as I explained in the other thread.
#18,
Sadly, that article was written 2 years too late.
Yes, sadly, because I was hoping that Korean movie producers and directors would use some of the profits from their movies that cater to the lowest common denominator to produce a greater number of the ones that win them prizes at Cannes and other such movie festivals.
Hey, are there any 보신탕 restaurants in the U.S.? I’m amazed by just how many there still are here in downtown Chongno. It could be a Stateside hit amongst the post-PC crowd, and I doubt ethnic Japanese will be likely to encroach on that particular market. Add in a few surly ajummas for waitstaff, just to add to the authenticity, and you’ve got yourself a winner!
Chosun Ilbo, perhaps you could lead the charge for this new Korea Wave? Woof, woof!
When my family lived in Tokyo, one of the most popular restaurants in our neighborhood was the GyuKaku — often with folks waiting outside to get in on a weekend night.
We really liked the place. It had almost Japanese ambiance and the food sort of tasted like Korean food. You know, how Korean Japanese food almost tastes like Japanese food, but doesn’t?
My point being that GyuKaku ostensibly is marketing Korean cuisine, but it really isn’t. It is marketing Japanese food that is heavily influenced by Korean traditions. (Incidentally, I was startled the other day in sold to see GyuKaku branded delivery truck.)
When we lived in Southern California, sometimes we would go to Korean restaurants, but we only rarely did so. Home cooked Korean grub was a lot better — and we were not insulted by having to pay extra for the kimchi as one typically does in the US — or at least, in California.
Anyway, with the possible exception of the mythical kimchi burgers of Hawaii, I really don’t see Korean cuisine taking the world by storm outside of the Korean diaspora.
Come to think of it, the worst Korean food I ever had was when I was accompanying some Korean businessmen in Paris and found myself drug into a tacky Korean joint in the Opera district. The food, though being thoughtfully consumed by some French folks, was so horrible that even the Koreans were ready to try (heaven forbid!) French food later in the evening.
‘The food, though being thoughtfully consumed by some French folks, was so horrible that even the Koreans were ready to try (heaven forbid!) French food later in the evening.’
Holy smokes…I have never heard of that happening. That must have been some real nasty crap to have made Koreans actually pass up and search for French food which koreans always find too “neuki”. I can’t even begin to imagine the monstrocity that was behind that restaurant..what, did they not have any gojuchang at all or something?
Tom,
Yakiniku (for which gene Gyu-Kaku belongs in) restaurants are not originally “Japanese” foods. It’s beef cooked in an open grill in the middle of your table. That’s not native to Japan Same thing with famous “teppenyaki” restaurants such as Benihana. What we know today as teppenyaki is the Japanese interpretation of American grilling and didn’t come into existence (as we know it today) until after 1945. Same thing with yakiniku. Didn’t really come into existence until I believe the 1920’s when sizable contingents of Koreans came to Japan. Anyways, I don’t believe it’s inaccurate to say that yakiniku is a Korean originated food that is evolving into a distinct Japanese dish.
As far as you saying that Korean food will never be globally accepted outside of the diaspora, let’s put things in perspective okay? It’s 1984. Would you have EVER thought of eating RAW fish??? Would you have EVER predicted that it would be popular globally? I’d say no. How did RAW FISH become popular? Well, in the mid to late 80’s it was the hey day of Japanese business expansion into the US (before the big Japanese real estate crash of ‘89) and to celebrate closed deals Japanese bosses took their American business partners to eat in sushi restaurants. I guess my point is that it’s a lot more likely that marinated beef would be successful in the US then raw fish, but raw fish somehow became more popular at the end of the day. We take the present for granted somehow and ignore the unlikelihood of what today looks like if we were living in the past. Thus, it’s beyond presumptuous to say that Korean food will forever be stuck only in the diaspora.
Marinated beef (or pork) is more successful in the US than raw fish — it’s just that that particular niche is already fairly saturated (by all the BBQ, rib, and steak houses out there), and so it’s quite a bit harder to stand out and gain a larger market share. Add that to the fact that Korean spices don’t stand out that much from the ones used in BBQ in the states (red pepper, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, etc…), and it’s really not surprising that when given the option of two foods that look and taste fairly close, people opt for the comfortable food.
Complaints over the ‘name changing’ is ridiculous. It’s just transliteration/transcription!
Sandwiches here are known as saendeu! Sausage as sosiji. Orange as orenji (that’s a topical one now, eh?). The list obviously goes on.
People seem to expect that you can perfectly transliterate and/or transcribe into other alphabets sounds that simply don’t exist and cannot be represented by them.
Well fellas… the real truth is that Japanese food is a big ass practical joke to the rest of the world!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1cWe96ZK6g
jk!….
WonKon936: I get it. The Japanese were too dumb to think of cooking beef and other food on a table until they were enlightened by the Koreans, huh? Try telling that to the Japanese. They won’t get upset, since the joke will be on YOU.
And next time, should you ever get to Japan, check out sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, as well as kushiyaki (on bamboo sticks, by the way– something I rarely see in Korea).
Incidentally, all of which, I gather date back to Meiji Period and most probably before a 19th century or early 20th century version of Hallyu hit Japan.
The only thing truly Korean-originated food I can attest from living in Japan some 14 years was the introduction of kimchi. With hundreds of years of living around hibachi and kotatsu, the Japanese didn’t have to be educated by Korean workers on how to cook food in a remarkably logical way.
Hmm… more Korean food in the market? Cool. That means I don’t have to pay $14+ every time I want to eat lunch at a Korean restaurant.
Isn’t there a Mongolian cuisine practice that closely resembles Teppanyaki? They heat the crap out of a large stone table, then cook stuff by pouring water on them (which evaporates immediately).
Hey tomcoyner,
Relax…the video that Wangkong put up is not meant to be deriding the Japanese at all. It’s actually funny b/c it is implying that all us dumb gaijin foreigners who awe and worship sushi, sukiyaki, etc. are actually the ones getting fooled. Just grab a bottle of ima-jochu and chill out with a Miles Davis CD. I’ve told Pawirogi the same thing but something tells me that it will be harder to the message across to him than to you.:)
bbundaegi,
Yep. That video was just a joke. Funny even if you approach is correctly. Tom appears to have taken it the wrong way.
Well, as long as the Japanese don’t steal the secret British technique of boiling everything into tasteless mush, I think the world will be safe. God knows what they’d do with that technology, seeing as they’re already doing such hideous things with grilling.
after living in japan for a few years, ive got to say i prefer japanese kimchi. its sweeter and not as hot. the gyukaku stuff is especially mild.
both countries have a perversion for the grissly, fatty parts of the beast though. tongue, ligaments, arse-rim…