Korea Around the Table: Food, Culture, and Mobility
November 3 & 4, 2022 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI
Organizers
Rory Walsh (Nam Center for Korean Studies, University of Michigan)
Youngju Ryu (Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Michigan)
Food exposes the intricacies and complexities of Korean culture and history. Food is quick and slow, tradition and innovation, codification and creativity, quintessentially local and a booming global industry. Food is social, whether served at a formal banquet or eaten on the street with friends. Food is lauded for its authenticity but is endlessly crossing borders and taking on new lives. Jjajangmyeon is Chinese food in Korea and Korean food abroad. One can eat sundubu jjigae in Seoul without realizing it was popularized in southern California. A bowl of budae jjigae remembers conflict but offers comfort.
Guidelines for Submission
Short Abstract: A short abstract (no more than 250 words) should be included.
Submission Deadline: Monday, August 1, 2022 11:59 EST.
Questions: Questions may be directed to ncks.kfood@umich.edu. Note that submissions will not be accepted at this address.
Final Submissions: For accepted abstracts only, complete papers will be due to organizers by Sunday, October 9, 2022 11:59 EST.
The Nam Center for Korean Studies at the University of Michigan is seeking contributions for an edited volume on the topic of Korean food. This volume will focus on food as a fundamental component of culture and an ideal subject for interdisciplinary social inquiry. From the origins of Korean foodways to the pop culture icon K-food has become, we aim to explore the significance of food in the concept of Koreanness both domestically and in diaspora, while shedding light on regional histories and transnational movements in which food is embedded.
We envision this volume as a resource for undergraduate education, and with further appeal to a broad audience. Chapters should provide a general introduction and summary of literature that place the author’s original research within a larger and more comprehensive narrative, and avoid overly technical or specialized language. We invite contributions on any topic related to Korean food, but are particularly interested in the following areas:
Origins, Staples, and Historical Foodways: This section investigates the archaeology and history of Korean staple foods such as rice, beans, hot pepper, and kimchi. It will explore how farming influenced social organization from the Neolithic through the Joseon era, how fishing shaped the local and regional relationships of ancient peoples, and what archival cookbooks by Korean and foreign authors reveal about Korea in the last few centuries.
Colonialism & its Reverberations: How did food systems change during and after the colonization of Korea by Japan? How is this further reflected in efforts like the New Village Movement and the use of Korean agro-technologies to grow rice in Africa? How have nation-building and nationalism shaped Korea’s current food system?
Comparative Asian Perspectives: What do dishes like jjajangmyeon and ramen tell us about early modern migrations in East Asia? Korean milmyeon, Taiwanese niu rou mian, and Vietnamese pho all have connections to wars and refugees, while budae jjigae and musubi speak to camptown economies. This chapter will situate the modern history of Korean food in larger Asian political and economic dynamics.
Diaspora: How has Korean food changed among diasporic groups like the Koryo Saram, Zainichi, and Koreans in North and South America? How do Koreans outside of Korea use the production and consumption of food to negotiate their identities, and how does this change through generations?
Heritage Politics: How does food as heritage play out with UNESCO inscription, food tourism, global Hansik, temple food, and food-centered rituals? How does food affect identity politics among different stakeholder groups in Korea? What qualities of Korean food appeal to a global audience?
Popular Culture: How has modern media such as comics, webtoons, vlogs, dramas, movies, and novels portrayed food and Korean people’s relationship with it? How is food used as a metaphor in these works, whether it is enticing or repulsive? What are global phenomena like mukbang communicating about Korea and the world?
The Nam Center will invite contributors to convene at our Perspectives on Contemporary Korea conference, November 3-4, 2022. Chapters will be selected for the volume based on the coherence of the book as a whole.
