South Korea is now one of the most wealthiest country, and their cultural influences are shiny. They have dramatic advancement of economical development. It would be their pride when this topic is in concern, that they also had some history of being economically poverty years.
The civilians had very poor conditions in daily financial status, both in colonial era and Korean war era. Many people suffered shortage of meal supplies, they ate alternative sturdy meal ingredient, such as barley instead of rice, some of them ate the bark of the tree to survive when autumn harvest was awaited. Korean people’s expressive ways of these poverty years have immersed of 情 cultures and nostalgia, they have common sensation that is memoir of the reconstructive years’s emotional bondings.
So, many people feel barley meal is specialty in Korean historical roots, or 막걸리 찌개미 (makgeolli jjigaemi, which is residue material when making traditional wine) so they unconsciously suggest it to try for international friends.
However, international friends feel they are not treated well, because barley meal is not special to them, and 막걸리 찌개미 is simply full of gaseous tastes in their natural perception.
If you are invited to Korean friends, when they suggest one of these foods, ask them the behind story about it and please take it with pleasure. The daily meal is their metaphoric expressions invocative with the foods. If you react their suggestions with care asking historical roots, it would be their pride fed back from international attention, it would be wisdom to make them friends from cultural respects to their cultures.
Some of the foods famous for Korean travel stories are sometimes not satisfactory to international people. They would like to entertain as much as possible, but restaurant workers also suggest foods they don’t feel great. In my blog, I suggested many foods that are also good for these people. If you are in Korean restaurants with Korean people, please call for the foods I suggested. The foods I suggested are common Korean foods which are not against your Korean friends’s pride, and tastes are also good for international rates. Please feel free to refer the suggestions of mine^^
I emphasize tastes of Korean foods not for blaming it, there are many international reaction to commonly suggested Korean foods so my writings would be good for alternative selection.
The travel is what we demand for full entertainment. Please be wise by reading my writing!