Essay Example about Korean Food Culture

Korea is a region in East Asia; since 1945 it has been divided into two distinct states: North Korea and South Korea .located on the Korean peninsula. Food culture in Korea is among the best-identified culture in Korea because it has historical background .creative stiles that have tasted the pass of time and recipes which are used in traditional ceremonies and festivals. This research is going to discuss elements of deep culture like values, beliefs, behavior customs, etc. It's also going to put more emphasis on their dog meat culture.

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Customs

Customs is a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place or time.

Kimchi is culture

Kimchii is sliced cabbage, fermented with red chili sauce and anchovy paste .it is nipping, spicy, and sour.K Koreans like it and they usually take it with any meal they love. Kimchi symbolizes Korean culture: it's robust, differentiable and defiant culture. The foreigners in Korea won't make it but if they decide they usually get respect from locals.

Shoes off

When entering any Korean home, you have to remove your shoes because coming with shoes is usually a sign of great disrespect. They have an essential relationship with their flour because they usually sit there, and sometimes they sleep there. Koreans don't tolerate dirty floors in their homes, and they view foreigners as backward.

Soju

Korean culture is drinking, and their first alcoholic drink is soju which is vodka like. These drinks are drunk out with short glasses, and like all other liquor in Korea it is always taken or served with other foods.K Koreans drink it in noisy groups regularly clinking glasses shouting cheers. Often at night, you will see men coming out of narae bang and staggering through the streets and doing funny things while making some arguments. They have some drinking etiquette: like when pouring a drink to someone who is more significant than you, you have to pour it while your hand is in your chest as a way of respect because he is not your equal.

Rice

Koreans take rice with every meal; they usually take rice using spoons, Koreans also do not raise their bowls off of the table towards their mouths .they don't leave their chopsticks out of the rice bowl, as this resembles is like how they give rise to the dead.

Do Not Smile

Koreans are happy and willing to give always, but you will never know from facial expression they put while in public, sometimes the chaotic streets resemble a sea of scowls with everyone putting their most stern faces forward while children keep shouting "Hello! Hello!"

Beware of Elbows

Korean is a crowded country .it's a cluster of Story Mountains with only a few valleys and plains on which it can be built. The people usually compete to get into a bus or elevator or to carry onions into the market. This is due to places which they are living.

Hiking

Korea is mountainous hence hiking is a custom during leisure time.

Behavior

It's the way in which the personal response to a particular stimulus. In our case, it's how Koreans conduct themselves when taking their cultural food. Politeness is very is important in Korean culture, and there is a lot of emphases placed on sharing meals and drinks. Here is some of them:

Wait To Be Seated

Wait for the older person to sit down first before you take a seat at the table. The oldest person who is honored takes the seat typically away from the door.

Before You Take Food

Before you take food especially when you are not at your home, it's more polite to say you are looking for the meal. In Korean, people say 'jalmukesumneda" (I will eat well).

Beginning the Meal

Koreans waits for the oldest people first to lift their spoons or chopstick first before they lift theirs because it won't take a long time.

During the Meal

Don't blow your nose on the table while the other people are taking food, this is regarded as rudeness and if need be its essential for someone to take handkerchief or tissue paper then excuses himself to separate room though this seems to be unhealthy by other people because they are making it like it might spread the germs.

Don't Rush or Linger

When taking food together with its required that all of you have to eat at the same pace as everyone else, especially the elders. This makes the meal to be enjoyable for everyone.

Soup and Rice Bowls

When taking food, they don't hold the bowl of soup or rice (as you might do in other Asian countries like China or Japan). In Korea, dishes are left on the table while eating.

Double Dipping

Koreans meals have many communal sides dishes you should treat them the same way you would food at a cocktail party. Make sure you take enough of yourself while ensuring that others are not going to miss.

Refilling the Glass

They usually pour drinks to others first primarily to the senior one, if the neighbor's glass is half empty you have to refill for him early and also its neighbor's responsibility to refill yours too.

Offers of Alcohol

When given alcohol it will be rude when you refuse to take it especially from an elder, and in any social situation you have to control the amount of alcohol you consume and knows that it affects your health

Accepting Dishes or Drinks

When someone who is senior to you pours you drink or give you dish you have to admit it with both two hands.

Pouring Drinks

When pouring drinks to someone senior to you, place your other hand lightly under your pouring hand or your opposite elbow.

Placement of Utensils on the Table

Don't stick your chopsticks straight up into your bowl because it has a resemblance to Korean ancestor ceremony. When done eating utensils are taken to the table because it's not only disrespectful when left on the table, but also it's a sign of bad luck.

No wasting of Food

Don't serve so much food which you will not be able to finish because that is considered wasteful. And that in Korean food culture its respectful in cleaning your plate.

Acknowledge Your Hosts

In case anyone hosted you in their home or take you out for a meal or drink its customary behavior to appreciate that person after the meal, in Korea, the people say "masegaemugusuyo" meaning I ate well.

Beliefs

The consumptions of dogs in Korea dates back centuries to more unfortunate times when the steady source of protein was insufficient. Over the years the Koreans, however, have cultivated the beliefs that the dog meat soup has medicinal properties as an antidote to the lethargic effects of summer heat. Then, as a result, the best time to eat dog meat was during 'sambok'which is the three hottest days of the summer. This is the time where most dogs were slaughtered, which was the act of cruelty in the summer.

Opposition to do consumptions increases in the 20th century as some regards eating dog meat as barbaric, in return the Korean dog meat industry decided to re-brand, where the name of the soup was changed to gaejanguk'or "stamina soup' in modern Korea there are hundreds of Koreans restaurants selling dog meat and soup in their menu. Many Koreans nationalist has supported the idea about dog meat, and they are defending it that it's part of their cultural identity.

Koreans culture now differentiate the dogs kept for meat and the one saved for pet.in 1962 the Korean government designated the dog breed as national treasure #53, this dog is loyal and has the kind heart, the dog also is kept for meat. Recently, the dog meat have raised eyebrows between the Korea and around the world due to animal rights and sanitary concerns, according to some sources consumptions of dog meat is decreasing in modern South Korea, especially among the young and the practice is declining. Approximation of some animals varies widely according to Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) 78,000 to 1 million dogs are consumed per year in South Korea, the amount is lower based on estimations of sales from Moran market, which occupies 30-40 % of dog meat market in the country.

Sales at the Moran Market have reduced in the past few years by about 20,000 dogs per year in 2017.S out Korea statistical information service 2015 agriculture census reported a total of 24,671 facilities holding 521,201 dogs though this number consists of both those animals raised for pets and those built for meat consumptions. Dog meat is often taken during the summer which is typically made when roasted or being prepared as a stew; the most common of this stew is gae janguk, a spicy stew meant to regulate the body temperature during the summer months. This is thought to ensure that it maintains the Vidal energy of the body. A 19th century model of Gae Jang-guy describes the preparation of the dish by boiling the dog meat with green onions, and chili powder .variations of the recipe contains chicken and bamboo shoots.

On December 13, 2016, local government and vendors association announced the termination of slaughtering dogs and slaughtering facilities. The primary dog breed raised for meat is a non-specific called Nureongi, Nureongi is not the only type of dog killed for meat in Korea. In 2015 the Korean observer reported that many different breeds of pets are to be eaten and that dogs to be fed including former pets. IN 2015 also, it was known and said that when retrievers are sold as meat dogs, they cost not less than 200,000 Korean won($140).

Between 1975 and 1978, dogs had the full legal status of livestock animals in SouthKorea, but the lawfulness of the dog meat is now highly resisted. South Korea adopted its first animal protection law in May 1991. Currently; the article 7 of the animals protection act does not explicitly prohibit the slaughter of dogs for food. However it does not allow the killing of animals in a brutal manner, it also does not allow the execution of animals in front of others especially animals of from the same species.

Dog meat in Korea is subjected to the Food Sanitation Act of 1962 which defines food as all foodstuff, except taken as medicinal .however unlike beef, pork, or poultry, dog meat is excluded from the list of livestock under the livestock processing act of 1962. This indicates that there are no rules requiring the human slaughter of dogs for meat in Korea. The controversy over dog meat consumptions often majors on the slaughtering methods used, which comprises electrocution, strangulation by hanging and physically beating the dog until it dies. Some dogs are drawn into the boiling water when they are still alive to remove their fur.in the year 2008; the Seoul Metropolitan Government proposed recommendations to the national government to add dogs to the categories of livestock whose slaughter is regulated by law.

Values

The Korean discursive pet vs. food and pedigree vs. On-pedigree boundaries appear to be mobilized in order to avoid opposition from foreign image ,closer analysis shows that this culture is carried out because Koreans views dog meat as a particularly compelling kind of meal, however because most Koreans believes in its medicinal values and its association with Koreans identification of culture hence leading to its widespread.

Dog meat in Korea has excellent symbolic social value. This shows that Koreans love dog meat because of the medicinal qualities they belief from dog meat, its cultural identity and also because they take it as their best source of protein. This shows that people make dog meat without considering moral values but rather consume companion animals to serve their selfish interest as consumers. In Korea, some people eat Bosintang believing to have medicinal properties, mainly which is closely related to masculinity. In South Korea dog meat is found to encourage one energy and also usually consumed during the intense Korean summer, many Koreans Buddhist prefers taking meat, including dog meat an offense.