American compiles trove of Korean cuisine information online

The Korean food blog, Zenkimchi.com, is known as the yellow pages of food for expats and just about anyone in love with Korean food.

The website gained popularity for its in-depth food reviews, restaurant recommendations, recipes and information about Korean food events.

Ever since the initial blog started off as a simple food diary, it has been attracting a large number of followers each year, who can become reviewers for the site.

Behind the scenes is American Joe McPherson, the 35-year-old founding editor. The devout Korean food promoter even joked on his blog about how he has nearly forgotten how to use a fork in favor of chopsticks.

“Though I can barely ask for directions in Korean, I can freely communicate with ajumma (Korean housewives) in Korea at traditional markets,” he told The Korea Herald. The government has been promoting Korean food as a major way to let the world know about Korea.

The blogger, who has been called a “gourmet poet,” said that some concerned Koreans sent him e-mails asking why he placed the Japanese word “zen” before “kimchi” in his blog name.

He said that, as with the Japanese word for kimchi, “kimuchi,” there is little chance for confusion.

“Well, I believe who claims the food first owns it, but with ‘kimchi’ I think it’s pretty safe, people aren’t that stupid to think kimuchi is Japanese. Koreans, however, should learn a lesson from this experience.”

McPherson believes that the problem of associating food with the wrong country comes from being selective about which foods to promote. “For instance, Koreans are forgetting about the nasty bits, they are food too.”

He said that a Japanese restaurant in New York opened up serving two Korean foods, gob-chang BBQ and saeng-gan. The dishes hit the New York Times.

“If they promoted it first, people will consider it as theirs,” he said.

He added that Koreans, among others, should be aware of what their own foods are.

Recently, a Korean company developed a Korean taco after marinating the original taco beef and naming it a bulgogi taco. The company is now exporting it to America.

“I promote basically everything Korean, including street food, and the nasty bits. Korea has been passive in promoting their food. I’m telling you, if you don’t claim it, someone will.”

“There is another big bug bear. In promoting food, not only food itself but also the service of how the food is served is important,” he said.

“It just comes from my food experience. I went to a hanwoo (Korean beef) restaurant serving it in a plastic bowl and self service. If it is a mom-and-pop restaurant, I like rude service by ajumma as a fun experience, but when it involves some table cloth and you up the price, you have got to bring something else to the party.”

According to him, some Korean restaurants are expensive and unprofessional. He said that staff often interrupt conversation, do not refill drinks, take away customers’ plates too quick and, in closing hours, kick customers out.

Along with those problems, he said “there is a simple mistake that can be fixed quickly.”

On the website korea.kr, McPherson found the word “biji,” an ingredient made from soybean curd, translated as “bean refuse stew.”

“Who would ever think anything scrumptious with that word? Koreans should not over-translate. One of the misconceptions held by the promoters is that they seem to think they have to translate every word into English. I tackle all the bad English that is used to promote Korean food to English speakers. Let’s not call it vegetable with rice, let’s call it ‘namul’ as Koreans do. It’s over-translated. Tofu, not soybean curd.”

“Although my websites do contain ‘reviews,’ I don’t like ruining the fun for others, by evaluating food as good or bad before others try it.”

Rather than just giving stars, he wants to go deeper, behind the mise-en-scne. When it comes to food, no one has the right to say their judgment is superior to others, he said.

“I enjoy food, not judge food.”

By Hwang Jurie  (jurie777@heraldcorp.com)