The K-pop wave that has swept the world is now being carried forward by K-food. On Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, more and more people are sharing Korean recipes, and a Korean cookbook has even topped Amazon’s bestseller list.
Chef Choi Jung-yoon dreams of conquering the world through hansik. On a busy day preparing for the first Korean edition of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants — often called the Oscars of fine dining — she sat down to talk about her love for Korean food.
Asked which Korean dish she would most confidently introduce, she answered without hesitation: “Banchan! Everything eaten alongside a bowl of rice — soups, stews, seasoned vegetables — is banchan. Food is really the language of a people.”
On the standing of Korean cuisine in the U.S., Chef Choi observed, “Hansik is trending among hipsters.” While Japanese food has settled into an everyday cuisine there, Korean food is still eaten mostly on special occasions and in special places, she noted — but she added that the New York edition of the Michelin Guide has been listing more Korean restaurants than ever.
On the balance of tradition and modernity, she said, “If you ask why hansik is having its moment now, it is because the traditional and the modern — a mix of many different cultures — coexist in it.”
To address the shortage of talent in the Korean-food industry, she founded Nanro. “We need to grow people,” she said. “Nanro will play its part as a research and education institution for hansik.”
As for her ultimate goal, she smiled and said, “I want to create hansik as space food.” “I want to do the kind of happy work that lets me contribute my talent — making truly delicious, truly beautiful food that makes people happy.”
· Original (Korean): harpersbazaar.co.kr
