Korea was one of the countries which emphasized 情 culture for socialized person every person are taught to develop. The core of this teaching was carried out to think unbiased way to other person’s effort and cares that respect at first glance relationships and interaction with people. It makes specialized Korean cultures, to understand other people’s cares with careful reactions. It is similar mindset as the Chicken Soup for the Soul, 情 cultures are emphasized virtue in Korean tradition.
It is also peculiar cultures when we have meals cooked by chefs. In every countries similarly reactions would be recommended–when taste is imperfect, we can understand the chefs’s care, and try to express celebration of the chefs’s cares, it is associative with Korean 情 cultures.
All international people who have respect for Korean cultures know this too, in many conditions, sometimes pushing too much for them to eat something not fave for international expectation, some Korean people push them to be backlash not to eat it. If we recommend more carefully, for example, not pushing out too rotten kimchi, we can recommend alternative, it would be better chance of providing good first impression and it allows us not to fall into the thinking ways about when 情 cultures seem strange.
As an example, Korean people were educated with mother’s 情 provision so we can taste 막걸리 찌개미 (residue material from 막걸리 craft) many Koreans misdetermined international people also think same way, but many chances it is not. 막걸리 찌개미 is good for thinking about 情 culture which symbolized cares of wine makers, but many chances it is not so many international people feel strange, and sometimes awkward, in addition to Korean people’s usual attitude to make backlash reactions from innocent international people.
If we really want to promote Korean foods, we often recommend 비빔밥, 동치미, 까나리 액젓 김치, 막걸리 찌개미, and so on, we need to warrant them Korean way of doing it would not be making sense for them too. The similarly thing is that when Korean and Japanese comedians made collaborative television program, many Japanese comedians showed reluctance with the collaboration, it is similarly effect when we concern some dark side of Korean people’s ways of behavior.
If we really want to promote Korean foods, we can select another menus then careful selection does not harm Korean foods receptions, it helps people feel more favor to Korean foods with honest mind.
情 culture is great accomplishment but if it is applied with backlash reactions, it is not good for Korean cultural promotion. If you are pushed when Oceanian people pushed you to eat lava, they do not force out to eat. It is similarly that many Youtube videos capturing the moment many international people’s first receptions about Korean foods, we need to see they would like to respect Korean cultures, but practical attitude of Korean recommendation often do not work as expected.
So, let’s carefully select menus for international people. We should not push them and selective recommendation is not sinful actions for Korean people too, period ^^