Korea Around the Table: Food and Global Korean Identities (Food in Asia and the Pacific)

Korea Around the Table: Food and Global Korean Identities brings together leading scholars to examine how Korean cuisine encodes identity, memory, and belonging across local and global contexts.From the early adoption of chili peppers on the Korean peninsula to the proliferation of sundubu jjigae restaurants in suburban New Jersey, this groundbreaking volume shows how food is not merely sustenance but a powerful site where history, culture, and community intersect. As Korean food enters the global marketplace, the idea of what is and is not authentic Korean food becomes more contentious.Korea, long marked by division and diaspora, emerges here as more heterogeneous than nationalist narratives suggest, with its food culture continually reshaped by intercultural exchanges.The growing worldwide popularity of Korean cuisine highlights the tension between preserving traditions and reducing "Koreanness" to a fixed menu of recognizable dishes. Drawing on perspectives from sociology, history,