What is a culture? It is a collective network of human lives. What is a human life then? Oversimplified, it’s a combination of mating (preservation of the species) and eating (self-survival). Of the two, eating is the easier to study. Hence it is only natural that to know about a particular culture, eating habits of the particular culture should be studied first.
To understand KM, which is deeply rooted into the Korean culture, one needs to know about its background. With what is mentioned above, it can be inferred that studying the Korean diet will help in the understanding of KM. Therefore, in this edition of the news letter, we will start with the Korean diet.
Before diving deeper into the Korean diet, it is necessary to take a look at the Korean system of eating. In Europe, the system is time-oriented. It means that the dishes are served one by one, with a fixed order starting from appetizer. In Korea, however, the system is somewhat space-oriented. This means that all dishes are served together.
This is so because the Korean concept of eating is very different
from that of Europe. In Europe, eating is like following a set course. In Korea, eating is like choosing which way to go, the main direction set by the primary dish which is rice.
The Korean diet is strongly centered on rice. For Koreans, eating is equal to eating rice. All other dishes are kind of complementaries; although their existence is essential, as one can't eat only rice for a meal, they can be substituted with something else.
The type of rice Koreans eat is very different from the rice that Vietnamese or other South East Asians eat. The Korean rice is more glutinous than the South East Asian rice. Also, it is fatter and shorter than South East Asian counterpart.
Along with rice, there is one more dish that is almost as much essential. It is Kim Chi, which is a spicy pickled vegetable dish. Koreans eat Kim Chi in every meal, sometimes refusing to eat without it. It is because Kim Chi is the absolute king of the spicy and hot flavor – which Koreans love so much.
Kim Chi is a general name for numerous kinds of ‘sub-species’. Kim Chi’s proper name changes according to the material it’s made from. For an example, if it’s made of cucumber, it’s called cucumber Kim Chi. Also, lots of things besides vegetables and spices go into Kim Chi; oysters, shrimps, squids and etc.
Beside Rice and Kim Chi, which are the main foods of an average Korean meal, there are other foods that are worth mentioning. They are stamina enhancing foods. Although usually not a part of average meal, they are very popular among Koreans.
Sam Gye Tang, a chicken soup with various herbs, is the most well known stamina enhancement. In old times, the mother in law used to cook this food for the son in law. To make Sam Gye Tang, the chicken must go through a delicate process. First, all of its inner organs are removed, along with the head. Second, rice and other herbs are put inside the body of the chicken. The chicken is then hard boiled for hours.
KM, a medical tradition, is also a philosophy(이 부분을gives us many lessons정도로 바꾸는게 어떨까? 한의학이 philosophy라는건 좋지만은 않으니까.). It tells us how to avoid diseases and what we should do to prevent them. One of the important lessons taught is about food. As we all should know, what we eat is what we are. So it’s only natural that to be healthy one should eat well. KM will do the rest.
