To eat or not to eat? – the historical adventure of food and culinary affairs in North Korean popular culture

SPEAKER: Tatiana Gabroussenko

DATE: Tuesday. May 2, 2023. 7:30PM (Seoul)

VENUE: KOTE in Insa-dong (Insadong-gil 7, Jongno-gu, Seoul)

ADMISSION (Online & In-person): Free for Members & Student (*Student ID required); W10,000 for Non-members

• If you would like to attend online Zoom, please RSVP by Monday (May 1). We will email you the link on Tuesday.
• To attend in-person, RSVP is not required

SUMMARY:

While the symbolic triad of ‘socialist paradise’ suggested by Kim Il Sung in 1957 characteristically begins with the “white rice and meaty soup”, the relations of North Korean official culture with food have always been complicated. Many puzzling questions are left unanswered.

Why do North Korean films and fiction have traditionally been filled with the images of rich harvests and catches but demonstrated very few images of food consumption? Why do the good characters always skip meals while the antagonists are the greedy eaters? Why do North Korean beauties often have triple chins? Why did the images of potato overflood North Korean pop-culture of the 1990s?  Kimchi or burger – which dish North Korean ideologists of today are prouder of? Male chef – a laughingstock or a ‘hero of our day’?

The lecture aims to clarify these and many other paradoxes which surround food and culinary issues in North Korean pop culture.

BIO:

Tatiana Gabroussenko is Professor of College of Public Policy, Division of Public Sociology and Korean Unification/ Major in Diplomacy, Korean Unification, and Security at Korea University, Seoul.

Area of Expertise: North Korean culture, North Korean cultural history, North Korean literature, education, and films.

Dr. Gabroussenko writes a monthly column for North Korean News.