Constructing National Food: North and South Korean Cookbooks and the Standardization of National Cuisine

• In Event: 89. A Lot on Korea’s Plate: Food and Collective Identity in the Korean World

Abstract

In the context of national constructs, recipe books define an ideal corpus of national cuisine. The need for standardized recipe books started in Korea during the 20th century, when Korea was facing rapid modernization in the Japanese colonial context. Partition later opened a new dilemma: if Korean culture is one, so should be Korean cuisine – but in the context of the long partition and of the Cold War regime of opposition, the two States tend to require increased differentiation. These competing identities are well expressed in the different recipe books which have been published on both sides on an official or semi-official level. This study will be based on the detailed statistical analysis of the North Korean “Bible” of its own cuisine: Chosŏn ryori chŏnchip (Encyclopedia of Chosŏn Cuisine, 1994-2014, Pyongyang). We will proceed to a categorization of the types of dishes, as well as methods of cooking and main ingredients used in recipes. In order to have a synchronic comparison, recent data from South Korea will be included in the comparative analysis. We will analyze Hanguk ŭmsik kich’o chori (Basic Cooking of South Korean Dishes, Yoon Sook-ja, 2008, Seoul), because the author had her book translated in several languages, insisting on the fact that the recognition of Korean gastronomy on the international stage relies on the standardization of recipes. Through these thorough analysis, we will be able to proceed to an in-depth comparison of the way North and South Korea construct their national cuisine through such recipe books.

Author

• Benjamin Joinau, EHESS