I have had several items on my bucket list. Anthropologically, I wanted to travel in search of the Egyptian civilization as a foundation, along with the Cretan (Mycenaean), Greek, and Roman civilizations, exploring the beauty of human life. Another was to wander in search of the beauty of our planet by visiting the world's most stunning landscapes in China, the Americas, and Europe. To cross one item off my bucket list, I embarked on a South America trip to see the Inca civilization and the nature of Patagonia.
After completing my Egyptian civilization trip last year, I made up my mind this year to travel to South America. Traveling to South America on the opposite side of the globe is no easy decision. Could I endure flying for at least 36 hours to one of the most distant places on Earth? Could I overcome altitude sickness in places like Cusco? Would I have the stamina to handle famous treks in Patagonia such as Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine? I had many concerns. However, Peru's ancient civilization, Patagonia's nature, and the modern cities of Argentina and Brazil were enough to blow away all these worries.
South America, which borders the Andes Mountains and a long Pacific coastline, is in fact a continent rich in food, with many unique traditional dishes of its own. I tried representative dishes such as Peru's Ceviche, a raw seafood dish without heat; Bolivia's Cordero, a traditional lamb ribs dish; Chile's Parila Marina, a seafood stew heated in water; Argentina's Asado, which cooks horse and beef not by direct flame but by radiant heat; and Brazil's Churrasco, where chicken, lamb, and beef are skewered on iron rods and grilled directly.
Whenever I ate these dishes, kimchi came to mind every single time. Considering that kimchi was born in the process of eating rice without getting tired of it, I thought of kimchi in the same way when eating these dishes. For those who have tried kimchi, these dishes would have tasted far better had kimchi been provided.
These countries have developed their own sauces to make their food more delicious, but had kimchi existed here long ago, it would have been gastronomically far superior to these sauces. Of course, people may attack me for thinking this way simply because I am Korean, but that is not entirely the case. Kimchi is that remarkable. To explain and persuade people of this, we must talk about culture and conduct more scientific research and promotion. It will still take time, but considering the role of kimchi and its history and culture of origin, proper promotion and explanation, along with scientific data to back it up, will soon lead to taste experiences and, as a result, a significant increase in foreigners seeking kimchi.
Chile and Argentina are world-famous for their wine, with enormous consumption levels, but wine is not all they have. They are also well known for their unique traditional beverages and liquors. Peru's Inca Kola, Chile's traditional liquor Pisco, Argentina's Mate tea once consumed by traditional cowboys, and Brazil's Amazonian traditional tea Guarana served on LATAM flights are all famous along with their histories, and their unique flavors can be savored. As for ice cream, Calafate ice cream made from the fruit of South America's famous thorn tree Calafate, and Brazil's Acai bowl ice cream made from acai berries, are very unique and delicious.
Excluding Bolivia, a highland country with the highest proportion of indigenous people among South American nations, awareness of Korea overall was much higher than we might think. Young people very much enjoy taking a photo with Korean tourists. Due to the influence of K-dramas and K-pop, young people seem to know a great deal about Korea.
The K-food craze, by comparison, is not easy to gauge in detail during travel. I could only sense the popularity of K-food through information that Korean restaurants are opening and that the proportion of locals visiting them is gradually increasing. However, upon arriving in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, I could clearly feel the standing of K-food. It is not that Korean restaurants have greatly increased in number, nor that modified K-foods are widely visible — unlike in the United States or Mexico, where local dishes have been adapted with Korean elements, such as Kimchi Quesadilla and Kimchi Empanada. In major cities, pizza, pasta, and Chinese restaurants still stand out. At large markets like Carrefour, Japanese sushi rice is still more abundantly displayed than Korean rice, and Japanese ramen more than Korean ramyeon.
However, visiting Korean markets or Oriental markets run by Chinese operators reveals just how hot the K-food craze is. Korean markets in Chile mainly display Korean ramyeon, kimchi, side dishes, and ingredients. In Buenos Aires's Korean markets, along with kimchi, seaweed, and other side dishes, Korean food products such as Korean ramyeon are overwhelmingly displayed. Most customers were young locals, and what was unique was that, like Korean convenience stores, small chairs and tables were placed next to the display shelves, with microwave ovens and hot water provided, where local young people were eating products like Buldak Bokkeum-myeon while chatting.
Buenos Aires is a city planned 400 years ago, with the Obelisk Plaza at its center. There are many theaters and restaurants, and right in the middle of this downtown area is an Oriental grocery store that has been run by Chinese operators for decades. Although it is a Chinese grocery store, it began stocking Korean food several years ago as more and more people sought it out. Astonishingly, today more than 70% of the food displayed is Korean. Various ramyeon products were on display, along with Choco Pie, Pepero, and other snacks, seaweed products such as gim and miyeok, and Korean beverages such as soju and Korean beer, all occupying the shelves. However, the rice was from China's three northeastern provinces, and the kimchi was the same Chinese-made kimchi that enters Korea, displayed under the name Korean Paocai (泡菜).
While I feel great pride in the fervor for K-food, I also had many regrets. K-food is not represented by ramyeon alone, yet I was worried that perceptions might become fixed on K-food products rather than K-cuisine. Can ramyeon and Choco Pie really be said to represent K-food? To truly understand K-food, one must eat rice made with Korean rice together with Korean side dishes. To that end, if small K-electric rice cookers were bundled and sold together with K-rice, the globalization of K-food might accelerate all the more.
