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

No one would deny that the role of food in the world's politics has a long history. Ancient trade routes that transported food from one country to another assisted in the development of diplomatic relations among them. It awarded power to those who possessed sugar, salt, coffee and other highly-appreciated products. British-Indian spice trade, trans-saharan and incense routes that were created, to a great extent for a food exchange, became a foundation for modern commerce. Times have changed, but food still influences international communication and plays a noticeable role in politics and economies.

Nations that quickly realized the potential of using food as a tool for soft power have already received positive results. Speaking about governmental-sponsored gastrodiplomacy initiatives, countries such as Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea can be mentioned. Briefly outline experience of three first named governments we proceed with South Korean food globalization program.

Thailand

In 2002, the Thai government initiated the “Global Thai” program that aimed to popularize Thai cuisine worldwide. As a result, it was expected to increase tourist flow, salaries of Thai cooks and recognition of national brands. The program projected a rise in the number of Thai restaurants abroad from 5,500 in 2002 to 8,000 in 2003. For a one-year period the goal was too unrealistic. However, in 2010 there were 10,000 Thai overseas restaurants and Thai cuisine became well-known all over the world.The government public relations department, “Developing Chefs for Thai Cuisine Who Will Promote Thai Food Standards Overseas”, http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_news.php?id=5585&a=2 (15.05.14) After 2003, the government continued to sponsor its national cuisine promotion and organized several different programs. One such program is the “Thailand: Kitchen of the World” through which unique Thai products, cooking methods and recipes are advertized. Great emphasis is placed on developing highly-qualified chefs who will be able to promote authentic Thai food standards overseas. The government is still working on its national cuisine promotion.

Malaysia

In 2008, Malaysia also launched a campaign for its national cuisine globalization. Campaign's website describes the program as follows: “The Malaysia Kitchen Program is a national initiative by the Economic Planning Unit of the Government of Malaysia, aimed to add value to the tourism and agriculture sector by looking at opportunities to expand the food processing industry of the country. The program is also to promote Malaysia to the rest of the world through its delicious cuisine via a comprehensive and complete business value chain”. The National Trade Promotion Agency of Malaysia, “Malaysia Kitchen”, http://malaysiakitchen.my/ (15.05.13) Malaysian food is not very widespread in the world; most of global capitals have only a few Malaysian restaurants, and the majority of people can't name more than one Malaysian dish, or do not know any at all. However, according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association of America, 1,200 chefs named Malaysian food among the three leading flavour trends of 2014. Hennessy Maggie, “Malaysian: Next big flavour trend?”, http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/R-D/Malaysian-The-next-big-flavor-trend (15.05.13) As with the case of Thailand, Malaysian cuisine is rising in popularity slower than its government had hoped, but the program still works and gradually brings the desired results. Today there are more than 600 Malaysian restaurants overseas and that number continues to grow.

Japan

Japan is one of the top countries that is using food's soft power most wisely, and is getting a lot of benefits from it. Not long ago, Japanese food was considered exotic, but nowadays, Japanese restaurants are extremely popular and can be found in almost every country. In the very beginning of the twenty-first century, Japanese cuisine was known primarily as sushi, which was widely accepted as a natural, healthy and low-calorie food. However, today a number of small, specialized restaurants which serve yakitori, ramen, soba and other traditional foods constantly appear all over the world. In large cities, Japanese restaurants are replacing the French and Italian as the most popular dining places. Many Western chefs use wasabi, ginger, soy souse and other elements of Japanese cookery in their recipes. Thus, the influence of Japanese cuisine on the world's gastronomy is tremendous. In support of this statement, traditional Japanese cuisine was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage record in 2013.

It took nearly 20 years for Japanese cuisine to become one of the most famous in the world. Sushi's wave of popularity takes it origins in Los Angeles in the 1960s. At that time, the Japanese economy was booming and Japanese executives that came to the United States put into fashion dining at sushi restaurants. Unlike other ethnic foods in the United States, sushi was not an inexpensive, locally-based food, but from the very beginning got a reputation of fussy haute cuisine. This fact slowed its acceptance; however, with emergence of the trend “fresh and simple”, sushi became an ideal delicious and light diet food. Issenberg Sasha, “The sushi economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy”, 2008, p. 52. The high status of Japanese cuisine was also achieved with contributions by famous chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, often referred to as Nobu, who operates his own network of prosperous Japanese fusion restaurants in major cities worldwide.

One may think that Japanese food won its recognition without any governmental support, but it is not entirely true. For many years, the Japanese government sponsored development of national cuisine in different ways. To protect consumers overseas from unpleasant Japanese dining experiences, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries established a bureau of experts for systematical inspections of Japanese restaurants worldwide for authenticity, castigating those that did not comply with standards The Reynolds Christian John, The Soft Power of Food: A Diplomacy of Hamburgers

and Sushi?, 2012 p. 49.. In 2007, the Organization to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad (JRO) was founded. JRO's first director, Yuzaburo Mogi, explained that “in order to convey the appeal of Japanese food to the world and increase the reliability of Japanese restaurants, as well as to contribute to the development of overseas markets for Japanese foods and food ingredients, the JRO will take a proactive role in carrying out such activities as support Japanese restaurants overseas, with the objective of sharing Japan's food culture with the rest of the world” Organization to promote Japanese restaurants abroad, http://jronet.org/eng_activities.html (11.04.14). In March of 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved an initiative of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to start a new international campaign for the promotion of Japanese cuisine.

Since 2008, South Korea has officially used its national cuisine, called “Hansik” as one of the main components of public diplomacy. Why did Korean government focus on food, but not fine arts or music, dances or other form of culture? The choice sounds rational when considering Korean historical and philosophical background. Certainly, the staple food of any country is a form of its national identity. It is especially true for Korea; Korean cuisine and its philosophy are indivisible from each other. Based on the principles of yin and yang and the concept of five elements of nature, every Korean dish is full of sacral sense and represents the universe and harmony. According to the ancient Asian cosmogonist doctrine eumyang - ohengsol (АЅѕз їАЗајі), the five basic elements of the universe ( wood - metal - fire - water - earth ) correspond to the five cardinal directions ( east - west - south - north - center ), five colors (green - white - red - black - yellow) and five flavours ( sour - sharp - bitter - salty - sweet). Moreover, each color represents an important mental quality (green - kindness, red - politeness, yellow - loyalty, white - honesty, black - wisdom) and five major organs of the body (green - spleen, red - light, yellow - heart, white - liver, black - kidney). АЅѕз їАЗајі - ЗС±№АОАЗ єёѕзЅД, http://blog.naver.com/kmcleader?Redirect=Log&logNo=16414912 (10.05.14) According to Korean philosophy, the process of mixing all the ingredients in a plate represents the harmonization of all the elements of the universe. While eating Korean food, one acquires the five most important human qualities and good health. Five colors are also associated with the four seasons and the seasons' changes. In that way, they represent time and space around us. Thus, according to Korea's vision, their culinary culture exists under the same laws as the universe.

Table №2. Correlation of basic elements of nature and its equivalents Kim Man-Jo, Lee Kyou Tae. Kimchi, thousand years. Volume I. Seoul, 1997, p. 38.

The concept of the five colours and flavors is peculiar to all Korean dishes. For instance, two basic colors of an egg are white and yellow. To turn an egg dish in a complete collection of five colors, Koreans add dried seaweed and wood mushrooms for the presence of black, thin strips of red chili pepper, and cucumber for the presence of green. Thus, all five main colors symbolizing the five elements can be observed in one dish. Another example is main royal dish of Joseon dynasty (1392-1897) sinsollo (ЅЕј±·О). It consists of meat, vegetables, wood mushrooms, different kinds of nuts and threads of dried chili pepper; numerous ingredients comprise five basic colours and tastes. The same can be said about Korean rice cakes with its multicolored layers and other traditional foods.

Koreans find ingredients for their dishes in mountains, seas, and even in the sky, using all the opportunities afforded to them by nature. So we can call Korean cuisine, which absorbed the entire spectrum of colors, shapes and flavors, the symphony of flavors. Korean diet is in a contraposition to Western cuisine, where recognition of each product's flavour is not a big deal. Despite the fact that Chinese and Japanese cuisines are also based on the concept of yin and yang and the five elements of the universe, the process of mixing five colors and flavors is not so important in these culinary cultures. Kim Man-Jo, Lee Kyou Tae. Kimchi, thousand years. Volume I. Seoul, 1997, p. 39.

Tracing the development of Korean cuisine, one can find major milestones in Korean history. Despite the image of South Korea as a modern, instantly developing country, its society maintains deep-rooted and age-old rituals and traditions, a large part of which are somehow connected with dining and food preparation. All of the traditional dishes have philosophical and aesthetic considerations, and every detail such as colour, temperature, spices and consistency matters. Pettid, Michael J., Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History, London, 2008, 49. Uniqueness of Korean cuisine consists in a combination of visual and flavour code in every ordinary dish. Colorful ingredients that sometimes play role of garnish are visible symbols of the code, and seasonings combine different flavors, from bitter to sweet. When the taste of basic ingredients accomplishes with spices and decorations final dish becomes a balanced and concordant mix of tastes and colors derived from nature.

Additionally, an illustration to the importance of food in Korea can be the fact that during Joseon dynasty in three of six ministries (the main civil institutions at that time), there were positions related to food. For example, in the Ministry of Personnel Yizho (АМБ¶) existed a post “Purchaser of rice for the royal family”, and in the Ministry of Rites and Rituals Ezho (ї№Б¶) several people were responsible for preparing food for court ancestral ceremonies, Royal cuisine always was especially sophisticated but it influenced modern Korean culinary to a great extent and today government actively revives interest in it.

To conclude, Korean food has been deliberately cultivated throughout Korea's long history, and the nation is rightly proud of its culinary heritage. Sharing it with people around the world would not only enhance Korea's image, but could also make an extensive contribution to the diversity and abundance of food diets worldwide. With that mindset of development the Korean Food Globalization program was started.

II.2 Structure and content of the Korean Food Globalization program

The Korean Food Globalization campaign was launched in October of 2008, but a detailed business plan appeared only in March 2009. Responsibility for promotional project was given to The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MFAFF; in 2013 it was reorganized into the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs). As reported by Jeon Yong-Chan, a member of the Korea Tourism Organization “In May 2009, the government-funded Hansik Foundation Act was enacted, and the the Hansik Globalization Development Agency inaugurated, comprising 36 members from relevant government departments, academic institutions and CEOs from the food industry”. Global report on food tourism, World Tourism Organization, 2012, http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/food_tourism_ok.pdf (07.04.14) The main body of the globalization program, the Korean Food Foundation, was established under the MFAFF in March 2010. According to their website, “The Korean Food Foundation is an official, government registered, civil institution that is created for the sole purpose of the promotion and expansion of Korean food.” Korean Food Foundation, http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN6000000&lang=en (07.04.14)

This central goal of the organization is divided into three basic groups of tasks. The KFF has denoted those tasks as: the establishment of Korean food legitimacy, Korean food industry promotion and striving for the globalization of Korean food. јіёіёсАы, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR6010200&lang=kr 07.04.14) Establishment of Korean food legitimacy mainly implies in-depth research of Korean food. It includes studying Korean food culture from ancient times to the present; examining traditional forms of Korean food and defining its excellence. The second group of tasks, namely Korean food industry promotion, concentrated on researching authentic ingredients, characteristics, storage, distribution and cooking methods, as well as preparing a basis for commercialization of Korean cuisine. The third group of tasks aims to transform Korean food into an attractive and well-recognized product. To achieve this goal there were suggested to certify and support recommended Korean restaurants, promote Korean cooking methods abroad, establish a foreign Korean restaurant network and reinforce Korean cuisine advertisements.

The business plan for the globalization program consists of 4 phases. Time frameworks cover 2008 until 2017, whereas 2008 is a preparatory period and 2017 aims to be the time when Korean cuisine is among the top five world cuisines.

The initial starting phase lasted for 3 years, from 2008 to 2010, and was devoted to improving Korean food recognition. Goals of that period were to develop brand identity of Korean food, create substantive advertisement content and promote the national cuisine through international events that with Korean participation, such as the G20 Summit in Seoul, ASEAN-ROK Summit at Jeju Island and many others. »зѕчГЯБш ·ОµеёК, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010400&lang=kr (07.04.14) The next phase, called the main execution phase, lasted from 2011 to 2012. It was generated to develop a foreign market of Korean food. It included financial support of home restaurant chains in their foreign expansion as well as existing Korean restaurants abroad; research of health-beneficial qualities of Korean food; and promotion of regional menus and cooking methods. The third phase from 2013 to 2015 is supposed to be results phase. During this period, realization of several projects is planned. The first project is to support Korean food supply businesses worldwide and increase Korean agricultural product exports. Second is to define a Korean food logo and appoint ambassadors, food day and food towns and prepare a complete Korean food exhibition. Third is to start spreading Korean cooking schools and classes over the globe and continue expansion of foreign Korean restaurants franchises. The final phase of the promotional business plan, which starts from 2016, has an open deadline and is expected to be the maturing phase, strengthening the results achieved in the previous phase. This period is supposed to achieve a good connection between the Korean food industry and tourism; support events dedicated to Korean food culture and increase the production of items, such as souvenirs related to Korean cuisine. It is also planned to make information about Korean food accessible in real-time operation and provided by well-trained commentators and translators. The final event of the fourth phase would be the realization of a Korean Food Complete Exhibition.»зѕчГЯБш ·ОµеёК, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010400&lang=kr (07.04.14)

II.3 Goals of the Korean Food Globalization program

The Korean Food Foundation stated numerous ambitious goals for a five year period from 2009 to 2013. Some of them became a reality, but many was never realized and sounds unrealistic. The following is the set of goals that the Korean government introduced to a large audience through the KFF's official website.

- Creation of 270,000 work places both domestically and abroad in the Food industry (excluding the employed personnel of existing Korean restaurants) Korean Food Foundation, http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN1010300&lang=en (07.04.14)

- Strengthening regional economy, farming and fishing activities through the creation of Korean food towns (100 towns during the first year and 1,000 towns within a five year period)

- Enhance the Korean restaurant industry, by means of standardization of installation systems, food supplies, interior design and other equipment. Expected efficiency of Korean restaurants is proposed at 100 billion won per year, and 500 billion won within five years. Ibid

- Increase the level of agricultural food exportation. Exports of food and beverages are expected to be 191 billion won for the first year and 958 billion for the whole period.

- Construct a multi-functional Korean Food center which would be a platform for business activity, exhibitions and performances in a food-related sphere, hold the Korean Food Research institute, information center and Hansik tasting experience area.

- Develop food culture in close connection with pop culture and the Korean Wave. Foster celebrity promotion of Korean food and domestic culinary tourism.

- Elaborate on Korean food branding attributes. Create and spread out Korean food symbols or characters, food anthems and music. Mark excellent Korean restaurants that bring the classical image of Korean cuisine with a traditional Korean half red and half blue lantern. More than 250 restaurants were planned to be marked. »зѕчєРѕЯ, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010300&lang=kr (09.04.14)

- Open an exemplary Korean restaurant in the center of New York.

Other goals of the organization with prolonged deadlines (up to 2017) are as follows:

- Make Korean food one of the top five cuisines of the world

- Increase the number of Korean restaurants overseas to 40,000 by 2017

- Investigate traditional North Korean food

- Publish a guide book for Korean entrepreneurs who are going to expand businesses overseas. The book would be comprised of information about marketing strategies, consumer preferences, tips how to enter the market and other useful information. Ibid

- Publish a series of guide books on Korean restaurants in main world capitals.

- Combine the information on the history, characteristics, ingredients and cooking methods of popular Korean dishes and organize it them in a simple and entertaining manner.

- Produce Hansik-related high quality videos and images. Create advertisements that promote popular dishes, cooking methods, ingredients and explain the excellence of Korean cuisine.

- Establish a database of Korean Foods and related contents. Korean Food Foundation, http://hansik.org/en/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PEN1010300&lang=en (07.04.14)

In contrast to other countries who initiated national cuisine globalization programs, Korea preferred to not only concentrate on several main points (such as increasing the amount of its restaurants overseas), but to also set a vast number of goals related to different areas of the country's development. A large-scale and diverse campaign evoked a great excitement in the mass media around the world; many foreign newspapers and magazines published articles about ambitious Korean aspirations. Many global food experts and chefs expressed their doubts regarding the validity of such enthusiastic food globalization plan, while some of them drew attention to the great potential of Korean cuisine. In any case, the Korean government succeeded in some of its food promotion undertakings and expanded Korea's soft power influence to a certain extent. Positive results and achieved arrangements are as follows.

II.4 Accomplishments of the Hansik globalization program

Since 2008, many things have been done in the field of Korean food. Without a doubt, the number of people who tried Korean food greatly increased in recent years. New Korean restaurants appear every year and their number is progressively rising. People interested in Korean food would not have any difficulties with finding accessible, detailed and trustworthy information. The Korean Food Foundation published a series of guide books on Korean restaurants in the main world capitals, a substantial number of colorful Korean cook books and brochures dedicated to the history of Korean food. Websites dedicate to Korean food life update their content regularly.

Many of the small goals that were stated by the KFF become a reality. For example, an educational course for the Fostering of Korean Star Chefs was created in Kyung Hee University (College of Hotel & Tourism Management).°жИсґлЗР±і ИЈЕЪ°ь±¤ґлЗРhttp://hot.khu.ac.kr/ (01.04.14) This program was designed to encourage Korean chefs who can contribute to the globalization of Korean foods. At the same time, Rural Food Specialist programs have been created in a few provincial universities since 2009. TV broadcasters all over the world have been paid to air documentaries about various Korean foods in order to upgrade its popularity. Stories about Korea systematically appear in foreign magazines and newspapers.

During the last year, many TV shows with Korean pop-stars were shot, and numerous annual K-food festivals took place in Korea and overseas. Master-classes of famous chefs, banquets in leading world universities, food expos at home and abroad are only a small part of events that were related to the Korean food industry.

Many affairs were created special for foreign participants. For example, a three week-long “K-Cook Delight” campaign held in September 2013, united professional chefs and foreigners living in Korea for the process of creation of new Korean dishes. Foreigners, with the help of professionals, became familiar with Korean traditional cooking methods and then integrated ingredients and ideas of their own national cuisines to compose fusion Korean meals. K-Cook DelightД·ЖдАО Вь°ЎАЪ ёрБэ, http://dowoomi.iie.ac.kr/contents/bbs/bbs_content.html?bbs_cls_cd=001001001004&cid=13080917331152&bbs_type=B (01.05.14)

The Program “K-Food Supporters Alliance” (October-December 2012) was created for international students living in Korea. By participating in the program, students became K-food supporters, which means that they tried recommended Korean food, were engaged in culinary events and promoted it through online social networks. K-Food Supporters “K-Alliance” ё¦ ёрБэЗХґПґЩ, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://www.hansik.org/kr/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=001&menu=pkr3010100&art_id=37720&lang=kr (01.5.14)

One more program for foreign students was held in the end of 2013. A National participatory project “Healthy Hansik Expedition” aimed to “understand and experience the meaning of fundamental health by preventing and treating disease through food and the meaning of physical, psychological and social health from Korean traditional food culture” 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 (01.05.14). Students were divided into expedition teams and discovered little-known healthy products from Korea's nine provinces.

As promised, the Korean Food Foundation created a logo for Korean cuisine based on the principles of Korean food philosophy. The logo is a combination of colorful trigrams that are representation four elements of nature (water, fire, earth and air) and symbolize well-balanced Korean food which is derived from nature. ЗСЅД єк·Јµе, ЗСЅДјј°иИ­ °шЅД ЖчЕР, http://www.hansik.org/kr/article.do?cmd=html&menu=PKR1010200&lang=kr (01.05.14)

Some testimonials were also held. In April 2011, a Korean food truck named “Discover Korea's Delicious Secret” toured New York streets and part of eastern America to introduce Korean “bulgogi burgers” and “kimchi tacos” to the American public. This street food campaign was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and received many positive and enthusiastic responses from AmericansLee Hyo-sik, “Hansik' globalization efforts in full swing”, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2012/08/123_118481.html (01.05.14).

A large number of research projects by Korean scientists in collaboration with their colleges from American, Australian and European universities proved the positive effects of eating kimchi, bibimpap, gojujang sauce and many other Korean staple foods.

Korean ex-first lady Kim Yoon-Ok, who was one of the founders and inspirers of the Hansik campaign also contributed to the popularization of the Korean diet. She participated in a world tour aiming to introduce Korean flavours to the foreign public and published a personal book titled “Hansik: Stories of Korean Food”.±иА±їБАЗ ЗСЅД јј°иИ­, http://foodi2.blog.me/30131570104 (09.05.14)

Efforts of the KFF to incorporate North Korean cuisine into the process of globalization turned out to be quite an unpredictable step. Security tensions between the two neighboring states are often considered to be a main stumbling block for promoting South Korean country brands, including the cuisine. However, government sponsored research of peculiarities in the traditional North Korean staple diet and even launched a Cultivation Program for Professionals of Traditional North Korean Food in August 2013. “This program, designed by the KFF as part of a larger initiative for cultivating personnel for the Korean food and restaurant industries, was commissioned to the Traditional North Korean Food Culture Institute (NKF).” 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 (09.05.14) The major benefit of North Korean food is that it uses only organic ingredients and does not contain any chemical supplements. That makes it excellent bell-being food with a mild and clean taste. Lee Ae Ran, director of the NKF stated that “if North Korean food is actively utilized in the future, it will contribute not only to the domestic restaurant industry but also to the Korean food globalization.” Ibid

A growing number of restaurant franchises have been expanded into foreign markets over the last few years. For instance, CJ Foodville Corporation, one of the largest Korean food companies, has opened plenty of restaurants abroad in recent years. The list of countries includes the United States, China, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia. Other restaurants in the CJ Foodville Corporation company serve international food, but one of them, Bibigo, specializes in traditional the Korean dishes bibimbap (a mixture of rice, meat and vegetables) and bulgogi (sliced barbecue, that goes with rice). The “new” type of healthy, homemade fast food can already be found in five countries other than Korea, and the popularity continues to grow. The American newspaper “The LA Times” named Bibigo as “the leading example of Korean brands expanding in the US”, while the London Bibigo restaurant was recognized in the London edition of the Michelin Guide 2014. The KFF mentioned that “this is the first time that a domestic restaurant brand overseas has received a ranking in the Michelin Guide, a global authority on restaurant evaluation” Bibigo in London's Soho is registered in Michelin Guide< Korean Food Foundation, http://hansik.org/en/board.do?cmd=view&bbs_id=056&menu=pen3020100&art_id=40689&lang=en (09.05.14). The success of Bibigo, located in London's famous Soho district, can be explained by the flexible and wise marketing strategy of its owners. The Soho restaurant is quite different from its counterparts in other countries. To attract a wide British customer base, a simple interior was transformed into an elegant and sophisticated space, the menu was also diversified and enlarged with a wine map. This network is a perfect (and so far only) illustration of a competent approach to globalization of Korean cuisine. CJ Foodville plans to expand Bibigo to over 20 countries around the world by 2016, and expects to create the first globalized Korean food brand. јјјУАЗ єсєс°н, http://www.bibigo.co.kr/KOR/global/global.asp (09.05.14)

Festivals and some TV shows (especially Kimchi Chronicles) were very advantageous, however many money-consuming activities turned out to ineffective, such as the creation of a K-Food music album, contest of the ambassadors of Korean food and their activity, most of which passed unnoticed.

Some goals were only partly achieved; the results didn't correspond with expectations. For example, Korean cooking classes were sponsored to be held in foreign cooking schools, such as Hattori (a prominent Japanese cooking school) or the Institute of Culinary Education in New York (one of the largest culinary centers in the US). However, the organizers promised to have them in the world's two best culinary institutions - CIA (The Culinary Institute of America) and Le Cordon Bleu. Yoo Soh-jung, “Korean cuisine offered at Japan school”, The Korea Herald, http://www.koreaherald.com/common_prog/newsprint.php?ud=20100326000397&dt=2 (09.05.14)

As one can see, the Korean Food Foundation and other agencies arranged a lot of activities and events in order to make Korean cuisine widely-known. The most prosperous turned out to be smaller tasks, such as the organization of K-food festivals and events, spreading different kinds of advertisements, the creation of a Hansik website, logo and TV-shows, etc. The largest and most meaningful assignments were not fulfilled, mostly because of a wrong initial approach. The next chapter examines exactly what was wrong and why the Korean government could not accomplish main campaign's goals.

hansik globalization cuisine korea

II.5 Reasons for the failure of Korean Food Globalization Program and suggestions for improvement

The Hansik globalization campaign seemed to be incredibly successful. Initiated by the president and the first lady, it was generously sponsored and organized by many people on a governmental level; it lent credibility to Koreans and K-food lovers. However, it was revealed to be much less auspicious than its creators intended. In October 2012, the National Assembly's Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee member Kim Jae-won announced that the "Globalization of Korean Food," project have already consumed more than 76.9 billion won without any clear results.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 (09.05.14) In May 2013, the National Assembly Budget Office admitted that the program was a “waste of time, manpower, money and organization” and need to be revised.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 (09.05.14) So, why did such a promising project fail? A major argumentation from the Budget Office is the lack of feasibility and central authority. “The Hansik Global Foundation, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. and the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries have allotted 10.9 billion won, 4.9 billion won and 3 billion won, respectively, in basically the same projects, which removed the chance of synergy effects with inefficiency," reported the NABO. Bae Ji-sook, “Hansik globalization project `utter failure'', The Korea Herald, http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130519000228 (09.05.14) However, after a detailed examination of the Hansik globalization plan, undertaken steps and achieved results, reasons for the campaign's breakdown appeared to be far more numerous and complicated than previously thought.

1. It must be admitted that the estimations and expectations of governmental authorities responsible for the plan preparation were overrated. Figures such as 40,000 Korean restaurants abroad, a revenue of 500 billion won, 1,000 food towns and 270,000 work places in a five-year period sound unrealistic, even to someone unfamiliar with the food industry.

2. Korean experts tried to promote Korean food as it is, not adapting it for tastes and preferences of every country, in most cases. However, as we know from other ethnic cuisine experiences, adaptation is absolutely essential. It is clear that Koreans love their traditional food and do not want to change it - the point of marking more than 250 classic Korean restaurants with traditional lanterns speaks for itself. Furthermore, when choosing what dishes to popularize, Koreans relied on their own preferences, which is inappropriate when considering the goal of globalization.

3. As the National Assembly Budget Office mentioned, there was no solidarity among the organizers of the globalization program. Although the Korean Food Foundation is considered to be the main body, various government agencies were competing with each other instead of unifying their financial and social opportunities. For instance, among the participants of the globalization campaign were the Executive Office of the President, The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministries of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Strategy and Finance, Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Knowledge Economy. 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 (23.05.14) Actions and projects of these agencies were not coordinated, which led to excessive expenditures and dispersion of energy.

Internal problems of the Korean Food Foundation have a huge influence on its effectiveness. As a member of the Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee Kim Jae-won remarked, “Nine out of the foundation's twenty directors resigned while serving their term. The turnover rate for its employees is also serious. In 2011, 11 joined the foundation, but 8 of them have left; 11 of the 16 recruits this year have also left the foundation. The employees only work an average of 6.6 months at the foundation. It takes plenty of time to explain newly appointed specialists foundation's operations and agenda.” Ibid

4. In the KFF globalization program, the main focus was put on Korean traditions, the rich history of Korean cuisine and the fascinating healing characteristics of the Korean staple diet. A massive amount of money was spent on research elaborating the healthy qualities of bibimpap and kichmi, as well as other traditional dishes. But in busy and dynamic modern world, it is not that easy to encourage one who has never tried a certain cuisine to do it merely because of deep traditions and the healing effects of the foods. Residents of megapolises are often surfeited with diverse and sophisticated foods; they typically want something new and delicious to try. Previous experience has shown that the “healthy and traditional” strategy does not work and the course should be changed. Many foreigners mentioned that the advertisement that the Korean government used to promote its cuisine (a woman in traditional clothes suggesting people try bibimpap and videos with ethnic dances and natural sights) was boring and not alluring. “It was too serious. It wasn't fun. People (American consumers) didn't understand it. You got them the wrong way.”- stated Todd English, an American celebrity chef. 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) It's reasonable to assume that the same opinion is shared by people from other countries.

5. Obviously, Koreans worked out their program without any significant collaboration with foreigners. This can be traced by publications on the KFF website, full of grammatical mistakes and poor vocabulary, as well as strategically inaccurate steps during the campaign. Although in some projects, foreigner participation was very welcome, they were not invited to create the core globalization program. That was probably the main mistake of the government officials. Groups of foreign consultants can clearly formulate what people outside of Korea may like from Korean cuisine, help with regional food trends research, and give an objective vision of a business plan. There are several blogs devoted to Korean food and run by foreigners that, to some extent, turned out to be more influential than the advertisement from the government. Popular food bloggers, such as Joe McPherson from ZenKimchi (http://www.zenkimchi.com), and Daniel Gray from Seoul Eats (http://www.seouleats.com) have promoted Korean food without any financial support for ten and seven years respectively. They are living and working in Seoul in the Korean food industry, as do many other food experts. Their experience was unfairly ignored by Korean Food ministries and organizations.

6. Accurate comprehensive research of the main markets has not been completed. Each region has it own peculiarities. In South East Asia and South America, people are accustomed to spicy and heavily-seasoned foods, residents of Muslim countries do not eat pork, Americans prefer plentiful simple food and Europeans typically accompany their dishes with wine or other alcohol beverages. The Korean Food Foundation had one concept of Korean food for the whole world and the mass approach did not bring the desired results.

7. Many of the Korean restaurants abroad were established in the 1990s by Korean immigrants whose main goal was to earn for money to support their families. They were not professional chefs; some of them had never worked in the hospitality industry before. Consequently, overseas we can find a lot of low and mid-quality Korean restaurants that do not present Korean cuisine in its best form. Even if an advertisement worked and someone decided to experience Korean food, there is a chance that he or she would be unsatisfied. The KFF has a program of tailored support of individual businesses overseas, but it did not present any clear results so far, despite an impressive list of support activities (“hosting regular workshops, integrating the construction and operation of websites, creating a food ingredient database, hosting job fairs for Korean cuisine professionals, presenting excellent examples of Korean food globalization for benchmarking, and distributing service items for Korean restaurants”)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 (23.05.14).The program was not realized on a proper level.

8. Korean food is widely known as one of the spiciest cuisines in the world. For many Koreans this fact is something like a national pride; young people often compete with each other to see who can eat more spicy food and they accentuate their love with red pepper and spicy dishes. For many foreigners, the myth that Korean cuisine is extremely hot is one reason for their refusal to try it without thinking. Unfortunately, the fact that a person who does not eat chili peppers can also enjoy Korean food often remains in the shadow of the more popular views. Korea should definitely stop promoting its food as spicy and allow foreigners the chance to control the level of spiciness of their own plates.

9. Despite the fact that the Hansik globalization program includes a strong connection between the Korean food industry and tourism, until 2007 there were no companies in Korea that developed gastronomic tourism. According to Daniel Gray, vice president of one of the fastest growing Korean culinary tourism companies, O'ngo Food Communications, the main problem preventing the development of gastronomy tourism is Korea's outdated tourism laws. There were created in 1988 and are still in effect. “The tourism laws state that any person that introduces Korean culture to a traveler to Korea should hold an official tour guide license. Also, the companies that offer tours must be a registered tour company. Nobody seems to benefit from this current arrangement except for large tour companies. When you have only one or two tour guides for groups of 50-100, no one will be able to properly introduce the neither the culture nor give good service to the guest” 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 (23.05.14). The procedure of acquiring official registration is pricey and complicated, most small companies cannot afford it and culinary tourism businesses do not develop. Cooking classes as tourist attractions are more widespread than food tours, but many of them are not taught in international languages, but only translated from Korean, which is not comfortable for foreigners. Moreover, the accessibility of some of the ingredients in the guest's native countries is often ignored by organizers. Cooking school clients cannot reproduce Korean meals that they studied and the process of globalization stopped at the Korean kitchen.

10. Western guests visit restaurants for reasons other than food. For them, a restaurant is also an entertaining experience. This fact is not taken into consideration by the overwhelming majority of Koreans. The concept of service in Korea is very different from the rest of the world. “Service in Korea doesn't mean the polite, respectful, courteous, invisible presence that one would expect in a fine dining restaurant in France, America, Japan, or other parts of the world. Service in Korea means an extra plate of food, a refill of side dishes, or a discount. Waiters in Korea are often thought of as deliverers of food and not much else.”Gray Daniel, “Column: Korean Perceptions of “Service” Must Change”, Seoul eats, http://www.seouleats.com/column-korean-perceptions-of-service-must-change/ (23.05.14)

One more aspect of restaurants as entertainment for many westerns is design and interior decoration. Korean restaurants are usually very simple and completely neglect the dйcor. But the inner atmosphere is a part of the show that foreigners expect to get along with their food.

There are still some traditional Korean manners that are incompatible with globalization. For instance, a single tourist who decides to try a famous Korean barbecue may enter a restaurant and be refused service. Koreans do not serve single guests barbecue because “the restaurants must change the grill pans, offer side dishes, and heat up the coals” Gray Daniel, “The State of Culinary Tourism in Korea”, Seoul eats, http://www.seouleats.com/the-state-of-culinary-tourism-in-korea/ (23.05.14). Furthermore, negative perceptions of single guests still takes place in Korea, it makes travelers feel uncomfortable. All of these facts contribute to tourist's negative impression of the country and its cuisine. Unfortunately, until Korea's approach to service changes, restaurants in Korea, as well as Korean establishments overseas, won't be accepted and understood by serious gourmands.

11. Names of Korean dishes and their explanations are also a big problem. The majority of restaurants in Korea have menus only in Korean, without translations or pronunciations in English. When there are translated menus, they are sometimes written in such poor English that it is hard to figure out what anything is. For example, not every foreigner can guess that "Bean-curd refuse stew” is a stew “made of the edible residue left over after making bean curd”. How to Stop Confusing Tourists About Korean Food, ChosunIlbo,