South Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said this week that it has developed standard names for 124 leading Korean foods.  Why?  Because there’s been such an inconsistency in Korean food descriptions.

For instance, gimbap is written as “rice rolled up in dried seaweed” in some local restaurants and as “dried seaweed-rolled rice” in others. Gimbap will now be called “dried seaweed rolls,” the ministry said.

The ministry said it will urge Korean restaurants at home and abroad to follow the government’s standards in making menus. It said it will publish a small book of the preferred English names and distribute it to restaurants.

“Korean foods, despite their attractions, have not been popularized among foreigners and we think the unsystematic food naming has played a part,” said Choe Jeong-sook, a research scientist at the ministry. “We hope this approach will enhance the understanding of Korean foods.”

Source: JoongAng Daily

Related posts:

1. Introduction to Korean Food 101 Korean food seems to be the latest hot topic. Even...
2. Food Column: Koreatown New York aka 32nd Street In New York, the melting pot of world cuisines, I...
3. Food Column: B-Bap in Midtown Away from the streets of K-town, a new Korean joint...
4. How Not to Globalize Korean Food At the end of December 2009, the Chosun Ilbo published...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.