Vegetable ssam (wraps)

Another aspect of Korean culinary culture that foreigners are interested in is the use of vegetable wraps, or ssam. The practice of wrapping bite-sized portions of food (both meat and non-meat) in lettuce leaves, perilla leaves, and others has played, and continues to play, an important role in linking Korean food with a health motif. The flavors of the vegetable wraps and jang combined with the crunchiness of the vegetables create an experience that is widely loved among program participants, many of whom are trying Korean food for the first time. It also helps that the concept of wrapping multiple ingredients in one leaf, due to its similarity to the Mexican taco, is one that is easily understood.

Korean viewers, in turn, were surprised to see many national teams dividing one wrap into several bites. In one of the scenes, a restaurant employee who noticed how the featured tourists were eating recommended that they eat each wrap all at once. For most non-Koreans, who are accustomed to tacos and burritos, the idea of eating a wrap in one bite was a new concept. Korean viewers were also entertained by the tourists worrying about whether the packed-to-bursting wraps would be able to fit inside their mouth at all.

Pajeon and makgeolli

Anyone who has lived in Korea will know that the country’s culinary culture has strong connections between food and the liquors that best accompany them. The traditional notion of food considers not only the complementary nature of one dish with another but also non-culinary factors such as the weather and mood of the occasion. For example, pajeon (green onion pancake) and makgeolli (unrefined rice wine) are for rainy days, while samgyeopsal and soju are for when you have a sore throat is spring caused by yellow dust (from China/Inner Mongolia): in other words, there are cultural connections that link seasons and weather with a particular food. Eating jeon (grilled pancakes) on a rainy day is said to have started when someone noticed that the sound of grilling jeon is similar to that of rain falling. Jeon is enjoyed relatively universally, including among vegetarians (with the exception of ones that include seafood).

The perfect companion for any jeon is, of course, makgeolli. Many of the featured tourists are unfamiliar with makgeolli, as it is not as well-publicized outside of Korea compared to soju. It is often described as “Korean wine” or “rice wine” because of the difficulty in translating the brewing process into English. Another aspect of makgeolli that foreigners are interested in, other than the novelty of it, is the custom of keeping it in an (often, dented) golden nickel-silver kettle and drinking it from a receptacle that looks like a Korean soup bowl or even a hat! The fun involved in drinking makgeolli can potentially segue into an interest in the liquor’s association with Korea’s modern history.