Category Archives: Food and Culture

Jjapaguri/Chapaguri (Korean Instant Noodles – Jjapaghetti and Neoguri combined)

Jjapaguri (Korean Instant Noodles - Jjapaghetti and Neoguri combined)

Are you a regular follower of any Korean TV program? Quite frankly, I’m not. The only way I keep the connection between me and Korean TV programs is by reading entertainment news on the internet. About a month ago, an article grabbed my attention. “Yoon-hoo’s eating broadcast – Jjapaguri and his rave” in a TV show called, “Dad, where are you going? (Appa, Eodiga? 아빠, 어디가)”.

Yoon-Hoo eating Jjapaguri

(Original source: MBC)

It was the top news on Naver (a Korean search engine similar to Yahoo but with a market share equivalent to Google) for one day. Then I was thinking, who’s Yoon-hoo?, what is Jjapaguri and what the heck is this news is in the headlines? It got me curious. I won’t go into too much detail about the actor nor the program, so if you want to find out more about those, please click the relevant hyperlink on the above keywords.

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Korean Barbecue

This post is brought to you by Groupon.

KoreanBBQ

Korean food is delicious, and for those who have never tried it, Korean barbecue might be the perfect opportunity to get a taste of the country’s meaty delicacies. Korean style BBQ has been popularized by the larger Korean immigrant communities of Southern California and the Greater Los Angeles Area, where AYCE (All You can Eat) Korean barbecue restaurants are easily located, especially in LA’s Koreatown (who would have thought). So for all the self-pronounced foodies out there who haven’t tried it yet, now is the time!

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A Bibimbap Ad Appears in the New York Times Again

Bibimbap ad on NYT

(photo is courtesy of Seo Kyung Duk)

There were lots of press mentions of Lee Young Ae’s (the heroin of Dae Jang Geum) involvement in a Bibimbap ad in the New York Times this morning.

I also know there was a bibimbap ad in NYT back in 2009 and there is another 6 months bibimbap worldwide promotion project going around, at present in Thailand.

I LOVE bibimbap but I am wondering why the promoter is so obsessed with bibimbap? Why not promote Bulgogi or Galbi? or even Kimchi? I would have thought these are better known? (There are lots of bulgogi and galbi taco trucks around major cities in the US, aren’t there?) That should count for something. :)

If you could choose only one Korean dish for major international media exposure, what would you choose?