33 Keys to Understanding the Korean Wave

#28 Korean Food Ecstasy 

*Note to Readers

The columns published in the Zoom section of NYCultureBeat contain selected excerpts—typically the opening paragraphs—from each chapter of the book 33 Keys to Understanding the Korean Wave: Beyond BTS, Parasite, and Squid Game (2025). These previews are meant to introduce the book’s themes and tone.

The complete book—featuring 33 updated chapters and new cultural insights—is available in both paperback and hardcover editions:

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© Sukie Park. All rights reserved. These excerpts are for preview purposes only and may not be reproduced in full or redistributed.

Kim Hong-do (1745-1806), Travel Genre Paintings - Seolhooyayeon (detail), light coloring on silk, 1778, Collection of Musée Guimet, Paris Photo: Sukie Park/NYCultureBeat / Kim Deuk-sin (1754-1822), Gangsanghoeum, light coloring on paper, Gansong Art and Culture Foundation collection

In Kim Hong-do’s 8-panel Travel Genre Paintings (*see bottom of article for full photo), which I observed at the Musée Guimet, an Asian art museum, during a trip to Paris in 2016, “Seolhooyayeon” was particularly captivating. This work depicts scholars sitting with courtesans on a mat under a pine tree on a snowy winter night, illuminated by the full moon, grilling meat, and drinking together.

“Gangsanghoeum” by Kim Deuk-sin, considered one of the three greatest genre painters of Joseon alongside Kim Hong-do and Shin Yun-bok, depicts fishermen anchoring a boat under a willow tree on a summer riverside and then sitting around eating a fish. Four water birds are looking down at their meal from the air.

The atmosphere of scholars enjoying the taste of bulgogi and alcohol in the cold winter mountains in “Seolhooyayeon” and the fishermen sharing rice with a single fish on the riverside in “Gangsanghoeum” depict Koreans in the Joseon period enjoying picnics and being natural gourmets.

Koreans’ passion for food is unparalleled. There’s a saying that you should eat even before sightseeing at Diamond Mountain (Mt. Geumgang). Regardless of their financial circumstances, Koreans prepare an abundance of food to the extent that the legs of the table may break when guests visit their homes. Koreans are people who cannot give up rice and kimchi, no matter which country in the world they go to and put down roots in, people who made Mukbang popular worldwide, countries with local foods all over the Korean Peninsula, and wisdom that developed unique food for each of the four seasons. Koreans are an ethnic group whose hobby is gluttony.

Today, Korean food is captivating the taste buds of people around the world. Korean American chefs David Chang, Corey Lee, Edward Lee, Danny Bowien, Hooni Kim, Roy Choi, and Jeonghyun Park are currently serving food in the North, South, East, and West of the United States. The reason Koreans lead the food culture is probably that they possess a special DNA for Korean taste. The spectrum of Koreans’ tastes seems unrivaled.

Part VI. K-Culture Renaissance  399

28. K-Food: Korean Food Ecstasy   401

Korean Food: A Timeless Love Affair   401

Andy Warhol and Mukbang   402

Anthony Bourdain and Choi Bool-am   403

All in One: The Korean Dining Table   405

The Language of Taste: How Koreans Describe Flavor    406

K-Food: Seasons, Patience, and Ingenuity    409

From Trash to Treasure: Beyond Skate and Monkfish    410

Regional Specialties of Korea    411

Korea, The Chicken Republic    412

Hangawi: The New York K-Food Pioneer    413

Korean Temple Food and Monk Jeong Kwan    414

K-Food: From Tradition to Triumph    415