Traditional cuisine as a part of the Soft Power strategy of South Korea

1. Set realistic goals based on extensive research of major strategic markets and national preferences.

2. Take into account the peculiarities of main world's regions and adapt Korean food in accordance with them. It does not mean to change and mix up foods, but to gradually create harmonious, well-balanced foreign-friendly fusion dishes.

3. To attain the latter it is necessary to develop home cooking institutions and support foreign and Korean chefs who are working with Korean food. In that case, it is very important to raise a generation of chefs who are able to speak foreign languages. “For someone who really wants to go outside the country there is a problem of communication. I hope that now our government realizes that and is trying to train more people in English and other country's languages, such as French or Chinese or Japanese”, commented Korean celebrity chef Edward Kwon. “South Korea's food goes global”, Euronews, http://www.euronews.com/2011/09/05/south-korea-s-food-goes-global/ (23.05.14) With such an approach, in a few years lots of Korean chefs would be able to work abroad for K-food success.

4. Promote Korean cuisine in a more fun way, taking into consideration differences in mentality. If a healthy and traditional trend works for Korea, it does not mean, that it would work for the US or Australia.

5. Collaborate with creative foreign individuals that can look at Korean cuisine challenges from an outsider's perspective. Do not neglect the experience of foreign Korean food bloggers, likewise talented home-raised professionals and master chefs.

6. Establish one leading institution that would control all food-related activities, initiated by different ministries or agencies. That can prevent unreasonable projects and expenditures.

7. Do not promote Korean cuisine as spicy food. “Efforts should be focused on shifting Korean food away from the stereotype that it is hot and spicy, it should appeal to global tastes with a variety of other features”“Korean food can be globalized if it has one differentiated characteristic”, Korean Food Foundation,http://www.hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=233&menu=pen3020800&art_id=40558&lang=en (23.05.14)- advised Moon Yong Chul, a famous Vietnamese chef. There must be several positive characteristics that are associated with Korean food and spiciness is not one of them.

8. Support existing Korean restaurants overseas. Work out educational programs for Korean restaurant owners that could help them to improve their marketing sphere of business and programs for Korean chefs to boost food quality.

9. Create favourable conditions for vitalization of gastronomy tourism in South Korea. Simplify registration procedures for tour companies; assist cooking schools that elaborate their courses for foreigners with care and concern.

10. Gradually change service standards in to a globally-accepted manner. Without that component, globalization of Korean cuisine will never be successful. Pay attention to restaurants' decoration, atmosphere, food styling and other elements that contribute to the perception of restaurants as entertainment.

11. In menus of foreign and Korean restaurants along with Romanized dish names, there should be an explanation of the ingredients, cooking method and final taste. That will make Korean food more accessible to others, prevent misunderstanding and foreigner's embarrassment because of complicated Korean names.

12. Using local and seasonal products is a long-lasting trend and it continues to gain in popularity. Pay attention to local agriculture along with the globalization campaign to help improve the taste and attractiveness of the meals for foreigners and also Korean citizens. If local foods were cultivated, undergo menu development and presented as a delightful and attractive, it could accelerate gastronomy tourism and inviting image of K-food.

On top of lessons that come straight from mistakes that have been made by official institutions in the process of planning and realization of Hansik globalization program, some additional advice from chefs can also be considered.

13. According to master chef Mun Moon Sool, it is also necessary to create a brand image for Korean food that tells a story. When people can understand the philosophy of Korean food, the meaning of five colours and flavours, have a notion of origins of Korean dishes and the development over time, their feelings toward Korean food will change. With a good story, people throughout the world will have an easier time understanding Korean food”, the chef assumes. “Key to the globalization of Korean food is the development of high quality ingredients and the menu of Korean food as a story”, Korean Food Foundation, http://www.hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=233&menu=pen3020800&art_id=40984&lang=en (23.05.14)

14. Seoul should not only concentrate on exporting its haute cuisine. Development of Korean food that is blended with the target markets' mainstream culture, easy to eat and delicious is crucial for its globalization. That is why the idea of a Korean-style fast-food chain or restaurants for the middle-class with a democratic price policy and adapted menu is probably the best strategy to make Korean food well-known. In this case, the Bibigo concept is an orientation example for future Korean food chains that will be established.

15. Use sauces as a tool to make the taste of the food recognizable and available for everyone. “In my opinion, the first step in the globalization of Korean food is the making of `pure Korean' sauces like doen jang (soybean paste) or gochu jang (red pepper paste) so that people all over the world can easily make Korean food for themselves. If cooking techniques are simplified through sauces, the standardization of taste becomes possible based on how much sauce is used. This solves one of the biggest problems in globalizing Korean cuisine-that the taste changes based on the ingredients used and the chef who cooks it.” considers Han, Choon Soop, designated as the first Cooking Master of South Korea in 2000. “Key to the globalization of Korean food is the development of high quality ingredients and the menu of Korean food as a story”, Korean Food Foundation, http://www.hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=233&menu=pen3020800&art_id=40984&lang=en(23.05.14)

17. Chef Todd English advised that garlic smell of Korean food is another problem of great importance. “You need to find a way to deal with the common complaint over the smell,” he said. Park Si-soo, “Don't be ethnic in K-food globalization”, Korea Times, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/common/printpreview.asp?categoryCode=386&newsIdx=142741 (23.05.14) “People love Korean food but they think they smell like garlic. New Yorkers are very conscientious about what they wear. They don't want to be smelling bad when they leave. So dial down a strong smell, use a technique or avoid garlic.” Ibid. Koreans often clean their teeth after having a meal to eliminate the smell, but westerns would not carry a toothbrush just for having Korean food. Though insignificant at first sight, such a detail can also influence the growing popularity of Korean food and should be taken into consideration.

Conclusion

With the help of Joseph Nye, the term soft power became widely used and received a lot of attention from both politicians and academics. The author of the concept assumed that soft power rests on three pillars: culture, domestic and foreign policies. In this paper each of the above mentioned sources of South Korean soft power were examined with accentuation on food as part of the culture source.

Being the world's world's 13th largest economy with some 20,000 dollars in per capita income, in 2008 South Korea ranked only 33^rd in the National Brand Index list (analytical ranking system that measures image of the world's nations). Former Korean president Lee Myung-bak was truly concerned with that discrepancy and set a goal to enhance the country's soft power recourses. Since 2008, Korea has put particular emphasis and effort into its international image - the country has increased its contributions and inputs to the international community, intensified development of its technological industry and boosted the promotion of different aspects of national culture.

The most remarkable progress can be seen in the sphere of pop-culture. In East Asia and other parts of the world, Korea is renowned for its dramas and music bands. From 1999, the popularity of Korean music, dramas and cinema started to grow and transformed into a worldwide cultural phenomenon - Hallyu or “Korean Wave”. At the end of the1990s, the Korean government decided to promote the Korean lifestyle and popular culture around the world and invested a considerable sum of money in the entertainment industry. High quality TV dramas and music videos contributed to the promotion of positive attitudes towards South Korea and the increase in popularity of the Korean language, tourism and cuisine.

On the global scale Seoul is also becoming a remarkable player. In terms of economical and political development, South Korea is an example for many developing countries, due to Korea's rapid industrialization and democratization. From 1910 to 1945, the country was a Japanese colony. During the 1960s and 1970s South Korea suffered from dictatorship and authoritarianism. However, the nation managed to overcome the economic and political difficulties and succeeded in achieving prosperity through export-oriented economics, democratization programs and social welfare campaigns. Nowadays, South Korea takes an active role in international political events and organizations and fruitfully collaborates with other countries, including the provision of development assistance.

In 2008, popularization of its national cuisine appeared among directions of South Korea's soft power strategy. The influence of food used as a soft power tool should not be underestimated - food is an instrument that can help with the consolidation of different communities, development of positive reputation for a country or a region and considerably improve tourist flows. Despite some achievements in Hansik promotion, the Korean Food Globalization Program turned out to be too ambitious and strategically-weak. Among all the reasons for its failure, so far the most important is the desire of the Korean government to promote pure Korean cuisine without adaptation for the food preferences of other nations. Besides, the lack of foreigners on the Hansik globalization committee leads to limited views on the problems with Korean food promotion. Being unable to estimate the situation from an outside perspective, the Korean government adhered to an ineffective strategy, spending money for false marketing steps rather than real deeds that could improve the Hansik image worldwide.

In addition, one of the top problems was uncoordinated actions of the organizers of the globalization program. Among the participants of the campaign were up to ten different ministries and institutions. Actions and projects of these agencies were isolated, which led to excessive expenditures and irrelevant recurring events. Performance of the main body of the K-food campaign, the Korean Food Foundation was also ineffective due to internal organizational problems. Nine of the foundation's twenty directors resigned while serving their term and overwhelming majority of the employees leaves the company in a 6 month period after being hired. To place the company's operation in a good light official reports concentrated only on advantages, such concealment resulted in faulty steps and unfortunate outcome.

While in the sphere of pop culture, foreign and domestic policies direct Korean governmental actions and support have a positive impact, the situation with food used as a soft power engine is different. To accelerate the process of K-food popularization the government needs to change its food promotion strategy and operation of the campaign's management system. Among the suggested steps are: consider the peculiarities of main world's regions and adapt Korean food in accordance with them, collaborate with creative foreign individuals in the sphere of K-food promotion, establish one leading institution that would control all food-related activities, create favourable conditions for gastronomy tourism in South Korea, support existing restaurants and Korean chefs, gradually change service standards and many others.

It must be mentioned that the successful global image of Hansik can evolve naturally over time. Besides government officials, a large number of people, including chefs, bloggers, restaurant entrepreneurs, media agents and simply Korean food lovers, work hard on Hansik promotion and often their activities are much more effective than the government's operations. However, it is a time-consuming process and in this case Koreans need to be ready to wait for quite a long time.

As any cuisine, Korean food has a potential to become trendy and strengthen the soft power of its country under an accurate approach. So far, there is a sizeable disproportion between invested money and achiever results in the sphere of K-food promotion. Soft power of food is being used ineffectively in spite of the colossal governmental efforts. Revision of the Hansik Globalization Program with consideration of all mistakes that have been made can considerably improve the current state of Korean food and let South Korea enjoy the fruits of its cuisine works as a soft power tool. Would the Korean government be able to do that or not time can only tell.

Bibliography

Primary sources:

1.Global report on food tourism, World Tourism Organization, 2012,http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/food_tourism_ok.pdf

2. Healthy Hansik Expedition: A 2013 National Participatory Project, Korean Food Foundation,http://www.koreanfood.net/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=034&menu=pen3010100&art_id=40731&lang=en

3. Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics, New York, 2005

4. Joseph Nye, Soft power and the struggle against Terrorism, 2004, http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/soft-power-and-the-struggle-against-terrorism/english.

5. Joseph S. Nye. South Korea's Growing Soft Power,http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/south-korea-s-growing-soft-power#DDIeYbyEw1isTTEV.99

6. “Key to the globalization of Korean food is the development of high quality ingredients and the menu of Korean food as a story”, Korean Food Foundation, http://www.hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=233&menu=pen3020800&art_id=40984&lang=en

7. “Korean food can be globalized if it has one differentiated characteristic”, Korean Food Foundation, http://www.hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=233&menu=pen3020800&art_id=40558&lang=en

8.KoreanFoodFoundation,http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN6000000&lang=en

9. Korean Food Foundation, http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN1010300&lang=en

10. Nobel Peace Prize 2000, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2000/

11. Organization to promote Japanese restaurants abroad, http://jronet.org/eng_activities.html

12. Promoting North Korean Food to the World, Korean Food Foundation, http://hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=056&menu=pen3020100&art_id=40767&lang=en

13. The government public relations department of Thailand, “Developing Chefs for Thai Cuisine Who Will Promote Thai Food Standards Overseas”, http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_news.php?id=5585&a=2

14. The National Trade Promotion Agency of Malaysia, “Malaysia Kitchen”, http://malaysiakitchen.my/

15. Whitney B. Christopher and Shambaugh David, “Soft power in Asia: Results of a 2008 multinational survey of public opinion”, The Chicago council on global affairs, 2008.

16. »зѕчГЯБш ·ОµеёК, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010400&lang=kr

17. »зѕчєРѕЯ, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010300&lang=kr

18. јіёіёсАы, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR6010200&lang=kr

19. јј°ијУАЗ єсєс°н, http://www.bibigo.co.kr/KOR/global/global.asp

20. ЗСЅД єк·Јµе, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://www.hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010200&lang=kr

21. ЗШїЬ ЗСЅДґз ЗщАЗГј ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ `№ЪВч', ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=023&menu=pkr3020100&art_id=40256&lang=kr

Secondary sources:

1. Bae Ji-sook, “Hansik globalization project `utter failure'', The Korea Herald, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130519000228

2. Byambakhand Luguusharav, Soft power in the context of South Korea. Budapest, 2011.

3. Cha Yo-rim, “Standardized Romanization of Korean foods to be released”, The Korea Herald, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20131007000804

4. Eberstadt Nicholas, “The truth about Korea's economic miracle, http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/asia/the-truth-about-koreas-economic-miracle/

5.Fischler, C. “Food, self and identity”, Social Science Information, 1988.

6. Gray Daniel, “Column: Korean Perceptions of “Service” Must Change”, Seoul eats, http://www.seouleats.com/column-korean-perceptions-of-service-must-change/

7. Gray Daniel, “The State of Culinary Tourism in Korea”, Seoul eats, http://www.seouleats.com/the-state-of-culinary-tourism-in-korea/

8. Hennessy Maggie, “Malaysian: Next big flavour trend?”, http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/R-D/Malaysian-The-next-big-flavor-trend

9. How to Stop Confusing Tourists About Korean Food, ChosunIlbo,

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/06/05/2008060561013.html

10. Issenberg Sasha, “The sushi economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy”, 2008.

11. Kim Kyoung-Hyun, On the relationship between the Roman Empire and its Soft Power, Vol. 26., no. 1.

12. Kim Eun-jung, “G-20 Speakers' Consultation eyes promoting cultural diplomacy”, Younap news, http://english.ynhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2011/05/12/73/0701000000AEN20110512012100315F.HTML

13. Kim Hong-Jin, The growing popularity of the Korean language. http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/09/11/2009091100859.html

14. Kim Man-Jo, Lee Kyou Tae. Kimchi, thousand years. Volume I. Seoul, 1997.

15. Korea: democracy, prosperity, now what?, The Economist, http://www.bwob.ca/topics/global-issues/korea-democracy-prosperity-now-what/

16. Korean Wave, http://vernandaolivia.wordpress.com/k-pop/

17. Lee Geun, A Theory of Soft Power and Korea's Soft Power Strategy, Seoul, 2011.

18. Lee Hyo-sik, “Hansik' globalization efforts in full swing”, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2012/08/123_118481.html

19. Mayer Natalie, The Cheonggyecheon River Restoration Project, Seoul, South Korea, http://sustainabilitywriter.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/the-cheonggyecheon-river-restoration-project-seoul-south-korea/

20. Mingjiang Li, Domestic Sources of China's soft power approach. China security, vol. 5, 2009.

21. Mingjiang Li, Soft power: China's emerging strategy in international politics. Lanham, 2009.

22. Miracle on the Han River. http://8lt-nginx-1724190726.us-east 1.elb.amazonaws.com/interest/miracle-on the-han-river

23. Morgan John, Appetite for education. Times higher education. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/414509.article

24. Muller Andres Riel, The fight for real food in Korea, 2012,

http://wwoofcsa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/The-Fight-for-Real-Food-in-Korea.pdf

25. Nip Amy, Choi Christy, “How Korean culture stormed the world”. http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1094145/how-korean-culture-stormed-world

26. Oh Chang-min, “Globalization of Korean Food," Fruitless after Spending 76.9 Billion Won”, The Kyunghyang Shinmun, http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201210041458461&code=920100

27. Olbrich Philipp, Shim David. South Korea's Quest for Global Influence. http://www.globalasia.org/V7N3_Fall_2012/Philipp_Olbrich_and_David_Shim.html

28. Park Si-Soo, “Don't be ethnic in K-food globalization”, Korea Times, http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/common/printpreview.asp?categoryCode=386&newsIdx=142741

29. Pettid, Michael J., Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History, London, 2008.

30. Reynolds Christian John, The Soft Power of Food: A Diplomacy of Hamburgers and Sushi?, 2012.

31. South Korea. Foreign Policy - Basic Goals and Accomplishments. Country Studies. http://www.country-studies.com/south-korea/foreign-policy---basic-goals-and-accomplishments.html

32. South Korea Food Industry Report: The State of Culinary Tourism in Korea, O'ngo Food Communications, 2012, http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34648588/state%20of%20culinary%20tourism%20d4.pdf

33. “South Korea's food goes global”, Euronews, http://www.euronews.com/2011/09/05/south-korea-s-food-goes-global/

34. Watanabe Yashushi and David L. McConnell, Soft power superpowers: cultural and national assets of Japan and United States. M. E. Sharpe Inc., 2008.

35. Who rules the world? - Monocle's top twenty http://howtoattractpublicsandinfluencestates.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/who-rules-the-world-monocles-top-twenty-overview/

36. Womak Brantly, “Dancing alone: a hard look of a soft power”, Japan Focus, Nov., 2005.

37. Yoo Soh-jung, “Korean cuisine offered at Japan school”, The Korea Herald, http://www.koreaherald.com/common_prog/newsprint.php?ud=20100326000397&dt=2

38. ±иА±їБАЗ ЗСЅД јј°иИ­, http://foodi2.blog.me/30131570104

39. °жИсґлЗР±і ИЈЕЪ°ь±¤ґлЗРhttp://hot.khu.ac.kr/

40. ЗСЅД јј°иИ­' 769ѕп ѕІ°нµµ јє°ъ ѕшѕо, °жЗвЅЕ№®, http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201210041458461&code=920100

41. АЅѕз їАЗајі - ЗС±№АОАЗ єёѕзЅД, http://blog.naver.com/kmcleader?Redirect=Log&logNo=16414912

Размещено на Allbest.ru