Food
Blog post 2
April 12, 2015
Clayton Slack
Food can say a lot about a culture of people. The way it is grown,
harvested, and prepared says a lot about the type people they are. People in
Korea often grow their own food or by it at a local market. The culture
has been like this for a long time, but some parts of the country are becoming
urbanized and starting to have an effect on the food. As the country becomes
more urbanized the food will start to become less home grown and more
"fast and on the go". Although many people in Korea have taken up
this ideal of having food fast and on the go, the majority of people have kept
the way of life of growing, harvesting, and preparing your own food. One of the
many holidays that represent this way of life is Chuseok or Korean
thanksgiving. For Koreans thanksgiving isn't just about having a large dinner,
but more so about connecting with relatives and strengthening family bonds.
Although the main purpose of thanksgiving in Korea is to meet with family
members and relatives, there is also the food part of it. The main dinner consists of an assortment of meats, fish, vegetables, rice, and fruit. These are also arranged in special ways to to give thanks to their ancestors. The third main part of the Korean thanksgiving is giving thanks to their ancestors. During the day many people put an assortment foods in front of the family shrine to give thanks to their ancestors for a successful and plentiful harvest. overall, Chuseok is more about family than the large meal for Koreans.
Kalbi (Korean short-rib)
"Chuseok." Imagine Your Korea Visit Korea. KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION, 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=811650>.
Kalbi – Korean BBQ at Home. Digital image. A Beautiful Mosaic. 13 July 2008. Web.
Clayton
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read that people in Korea grow their own food or by it by the local market. I assumed that Korea was becoming more urbanized as you said but, didn't realize many of the people still harvest their own food. I really liked your comment about thanksgiving and how the people of Korea use it to give thanks to their ancestors.