Japanese professor says private sector should lead Korean food promotion

Koreans share warmth and affection through food, and this tradition could bolster bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan, a Japanese professor who has dedicated much of his career to culinary exchange said Wednesday.

"Korean and Japanese food culture is similar in that both countries have rice as their staple. But Koreans are more generous with their food. A guest is served with a heaping bowl of rice with many banchan (side dishes). You can feel 'jeong' from a Korean dining table."

Asakura Toshio, a professor at the National Museum of Ethnology, defined Korean food as "jeong," or warm affection in Korean, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

The National Folk Museum of Korea and Japan's National Museum of Ethnology recently ran an exhibition respectively to compare the two countries' dining culture.

The exhibition, "Babsang-Ji-Gyo; Exchange of Food Culture On the Table" that ran from Dec. 9 to March 6, showcased the history of food exchanges between South Korea and Japan.

"Food is a difficult subject to exhibit...The Korean exhibition was great in that it brought out people's old memories about culinary exchanges between the two neighbors," the professor said, adding the culinary culture of the two countries have developed while influencing each other. For example, Korea adapted Japan's tonkatsu to make it their own, and Korea's bulgogi became yakiniku in Japan.

He emphasized that food is not something you can persuade or force someone to embrace unconditionally. Mixing rice with other ingredients or soups is Korea's unique dining aspect, he said, so it was only natural that an effort to sell Japanese-style rice with beef failed to make it in the Korean market in late 1990s. At that time, the restaurant which offered the dishes advised diners not mix it up. He said it didn't understand the unique Korean culinary culture.

"Everyone has different taste buds, so I don't think it is a good idea for the South Korean government to try to unify recipes for Korean foods or to promote a certain food. The campaign should be led by the private sector while the government just offers its support," he suggested.

After retiring from the museum later this month, he plans to move to Ritsumeikan University in Tokyo. There, he will continue his endeavor in developing the food industry and deepening the culinary exchanges with other countries by establishing a food department.

" I consider myself a 'Korean-friendly' Japanese. There is nothing more useful for making a friend than food. And I love Korean food. The most important thing to improve bilateral relations is to have something in common," he said.  (Yonhap)