“There's never been a Korean food book like this before”
As the first Minister of Culture, Lee O-young, states, people who say 'eat age' (which means getting older), 'eat money' (that is, earning it), 'eat insults' (being bad-mouthed), 'eat hardship' (exerting yourself), 'eat fear' (getting scared), ‘eat your mind' (making up one’s mind), 'eat a championship' (winning one), and 'eat feelings' (when one is really touched) are Koreans. In dealing with food, time, space, emotions, and goods, Koreans have been inseparable from the activity of eating. However, there were not many books that explored the way they ate and lived. Above all, it is rare to find a book that properly answers the question of people outside the country, 'What are the characteristics of Korean food?'

<k food: secrets of korean flavors: part 1, the special flavors korea> Prologue The Five Secrets Behind the Taste of Korea Bland; Wrapping and Mixing; Pickling and Fermenting; Digging, Picking and Plucking; Simmering, Boiling and Steaming. Korea’s Specialty Dishes Royal Cuisine, Gourmet Food for Royals Three Women of Korean Royal Cuisine The Cuisine Coexisting with Royal Court Food: The Food of Seoul’s Nobility The Prestigious Heritage of Jongga Food Understanding Jerye Food Heritage Foods of Korea’s Renowned Jongga Temple Food, the Taste of Enlightenment Why Eating Temple Food is the Key to a Long Life Praying for Health, Prosperity and Happiness: The Food of Korean Holidays Food and Rites of Passage Korean Food Basics Foods Contemporary Koreans Like to Eat Korean Condiments: Not Just a Seasoning but also a Medicine Gomyeong: A Picture Drawn in a Dish Deep Cuts: Korean Cooking Knives Cooking Utensils for Korean Dishes Artless Art, Kitchenware for Korean Food The Feudal Ethics and Democratic Principles Contained in Korean Tables Soban: The Mobile Dining Table for One The Dining Tables of the Koreans Dining with Guests Daily Dining for Families A Farmer’s Lunch Table A Senior’s Birthday Dinner Making Picnic Lunches for Families with Children A Solo Diner’s Simple Dinner A Weekend Meal for Three Generations A Vegetarian’s Dinner The Dining Table of a Long-Term Expat A Korean Chef’s Formal Dinner Appendix What’s Inside Koreans’ Cupboards Jongga Food in the Supermarket Where to Experience Authentic Korean Food < K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 2, Bland, Wrapping, Mixing> Prologue Bland Wrapping and Mixing The Fusion Culture Created by Rice Bland The Korean Way of Dining Why Have Koreans Made Rice Their Staple Food? Future of the 0.001%: Korea’s Native Rice An Introduction to Korea’s Most Prominent Native Rice Cultivars Comparing the Tastes of Korean Rice Cultivars The Infinite Transformations of Ssal and Bap in the Korean Language Tools to Make Rice: From Cast-Iron Cauldrons to Pressure Cookers Secrets of Instant Rice Why Did Koreans Drink Sungnyung After Meals? Juk: A Food That Came Before Cooked Rice Wrapping Everything Korean Ssambap: Fortune and Health in a Wrap How Quick Meals in the Fields Became Ssambap Common Wrapping Leaves in Korea Gujeolpan: Ssam, Elevated What’s in a Royal Lettuce Ssam? When Did Koreans Start Eating Gimbap? Korea’s Mandu vs. China’s Dumplings The Secrets of Frozen Mandu Mixing Cooked Rice Bibimbap: A Commonwealth of Flavors Haeju Bibimbap Jinju Bibimbap Tongyeong Bibimbap Andong Bibimbap Jeonju Bibimbap Sesame Oil and Perilla Oil: The Finishing Touches of Korean Dishes Korea’s Top Bibimbap Restaurants Everyday Korean Dishes Made by Mixing and Wrapping < K FOOD: Secrets of Korean Flavors: Part 3, Pickling, Fermenting> Prologue Pickling and Fermenting Korean Fermentation Culture: Born from Scarcity Making Jang The Secret Behind the Taste of Ganjang and Doenjang The Basis of Korean Food’s Complex Flavors: Doenjang and Ganjang Blessed Are the Homes with Meju Hanging from the Eaves on the Jang-Making Day The Secret Behind the Taste of Gochujang Gochujang, Korean Soul Food The Fermented Beans of Korea, Japan, and China Best Korean Jang, Winners of the Good Fermented Food Awards Korean Jang-Based Sauce Products Beans in Korean Proverbs Salt, the Hero in the Story of Fermentation The Natural History of Sea Salt Salt Products Available in Korea Making Kimchi The Secret Behind the Taste of Kimchi Why is Kimchi Special to Koreans? Is Kimchi Really a Superfood? Gimjang: Making “Half-Year Food” Without Onggi, Fermentation Does Not Occur Jangdokdae: A Family’s Altar Why Were Geumjul Wrapped Around Crocks? The Invention of the Kimchi Refrigerator The Korean Love of Jeotgal In Praise of Jangajji Fermenting Alcohol Korea’s Fermented Alcohols Have Good Roots Tasteful Drinks and Entertainment in Old Paintings Drink Makgeolli if You Want to Understand Koreans Malgeolli’s Transformation Regional Signature Fermented Wine Everyday Korean Food Made by Pickling and Fermenting














































































































<k food: secrets of korean flavors: part 4, pickling, digging, plucking> Prologue Picking, Digging and Plucking Descendants of Gatherers: The Dietary Lives of the Koreans Picking Greens Namul Nation Korea’s Favorite Namul (Greens) Folk Songs about Gathering Namul Koreans Are Sweet on Bitter Tastes Year-Old Namul on the First Full Moon Koreans and Kongnamul Ready-Made Seasonings for Convenient Cooking Ready-Made Namul Seasoning Products Magical Mushrooms Korean Mushrooms A Baguni on Every Arm Digging Up Roots Deep-Rooted Root Vegetables Root Vegetables in Korean Cuisine The Place of Root Vegetables in Holiday Foods Homi, the Tool of the Korean Woman Plucking Fruits Tree Nuts and Fruits in the Lives of Koreans For Celebration and Remembrance: Jujubes, Chestnuts, Persimmons and Pine Nuts Making Jelly out of Grain Gathering Seaweed A Watery Harvest Marine Plants on the Korean Table Varieties of Gim (Laver) Seaweed, Koreans’ Lifelong Companion Everyday Korean Food Made by Digging, Picking and Plucking































<k food: secrets of korean flavors: part 5, simmering, boiling, steaming> Prologue Simmering, Boiling and Steaming Korea: A Nation of Broth Simmering Soup A Nation of Broth: Guk, Tang, Jjigae and Jeongol Soup Dishes of the Royal Court Guk: From the Cradle to the Grave The Hidden Science of a Rich Broth Ingredients for Making Broth Boiled, Brewed and Stewed: Gomtang and Seolleongtang The Old Gukbap Restaurants of Seoul Korea: The Nation of Spoons and Chopsticks Simmered Down: Yeot, Jocheong and Go The Story Behind Sot Boiling Noodles Noodles, Broth, and the Koreans Regional Noodle Dishes of Korea Naengmyeon: A Mysterious, Indescribable Dish In Search of Ramyeon (Instant Noodles) A Timeline of Korean Ramyeon Steaming Rice Cakes and Dishes Seon and Jjim: The Slowest of Slow Foods A Humanistic Approach to Tteok The Beauty of Royal Rice Cake Popular Tteok (Rice Cake) of Today Tteoksal: Carved Out of Life Itself Tteokbokki, a Nation’s Favorite Everyday Korean Dishes Made by Simmering, Boiling and Steaming