"Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once."
— Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly)
This quote really made me think of Koreans I know who travelled abroad. Most of them went on package tours where everything was prepared for them. For the most part they only ate at Korean style restaurants. They saw all the sites tourists are supposed to see, and had their pictures taken in front of them.
To me going to another country should be an experience of all your senses. Not some antiseptic prepared tour where nothing is really a surprise and all you experience is the familiar. I believe you need to experience all the culture and food is a major part of that. I would be gobsmacked when I talked with friends and students who travelled abroad but never sampled the food. In many cases they brought Korean rice and kimchi with them.
I would look at them as if they were insane when they talked about going to Thailand but not even trying Thai food. They would say it tastes too strong or too hot. But ... how the kimchi would they know? They never tried it! One of the biggest complaints I heard was about how all Chinese food is too oily, too greasy. Yet this would be said after telling you they have NEVER eaten it. They never even tried a nibble. Why? Because they were TOLD, by Koreans, that the food was like that. So why bother trying it? To which I would say why bother going abroad if you are just going to see Korean related or approved sites and only eating Korean food?
