I was working on a post about Culture Tips that EPIK, or an EPIK related site put out a few years ago. Unfortunately I lost the URL during the last crash of the computer. All I have are two pictures of their list. One has 15 and the other 19 tips that range from good to What the kimchi? hilarious.
Anyway, I plug in the words "culture tips" and the first tip "1. most korean foods are very spicy" into google. I didn't find the site I was looking for but what I did find made me curious.
What I found was "My Friend Korea: Food Guide for Muslims" part of the Dynamic Korea program. It was put out by the Korea Tourism Organization and endorsed by the head of the Korean Muslim Federation.
After 10 pages of pictures and BS you finally start hearing about food. What do I mean by BS? Well, at least 3 references to Korea's 4 distinct seasons and another 3-4 about how Korean food is linked to nature and health. Even the head of the Muslim Federation comments on the Four Seasons. (Why leave out the Temps and the Tops?)
Even when it got into the food the theme of nature and health were everywhere. And of course they had to point out what places were used in the TV series Winter Sonata.
Then there is the expected bad English. Why expected? Because it always appears. Surely to god they can get a proof-reader to check things out. But they (Koreans) don't.
When talking about the flavours and aromas of nature "It is healthy to eat food the way it is ..."
When talking about Haemul Jeongul they say "Koreans like to enjoy frying rice in the leftover casserole..." Like to enjoy?
The last 14 pages were ads for restaurants, locations of places of worship for muslims, and some tips. Tips such as useful Englsih (THEIR typo not mine) expressions with the Korean beside them for use in restaurants.
Now not to be a total dick, just a partial one, there is some good stuff here. The pictures are great. They do NOT include any pork dishes. Nor do they suggest alcohol with any of the dishes. (Although they do mention that Bulgogi is made using rice wine. They do state that the official Halal restaurants are safe. Which I assume to mean do not use alcohol.) It did seem strange to see pajeon mentioned without makkeoli. And the few instances of bad English aside, they do give helpful expressions.
Overall I would have to say it is a good guide for a Muslim looking for food. The pictures are stunning. It does mention Halal restaurants around the country and not just Seoul. (Although most are in Seoul.)
I always wondered how it is for a Muslim to live in Korea. When I was living in China, my French-Chinese translator was Nigerian. He was bilingual in French and Chinese Mandarin, and was Muslim.
ReplyDeleteIt was quite complicated for us to find Muslim friendly restaurants, so we used to eat at the "Xinjiang" joint quite often. At least, China has a Muslim population.
To my eyes, Korea's concern for Muslims appears to be completely inexistent.
Cool article !
Aside from the things I picked on I was kind of impressed by the magazine/flyer.
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