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Organized by the Gwangju University, participated by the ACC Foundation, and cooperation from the ACC
“Story of Overseas Chinese Food within Us” lecture
Relay open lecture inviting well-known speakers in all areas from May 31 onward

Some time ago, a television program broadcasted an episode about a restaurant in Seoul serving “dao xiao mian (刀削面) and dim sum.” As I watched people line up for the admittedly unfamiliar dish, I thought back to how the mala (soup, xiang guo, hotpot), lamb skewers, guo bao rou (sweet and sour pork in sweet rice batter), and other dishes have established themselves as the favorites of the MZ generation. I also realized the understanding and sharing with different cultures through the food culture.

If Korea had an iconic “foreign” dish, that would certainly be the jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce). In May, the ACC Library Park hosted a forum for understanding and sharing under the themes of jjajangmyeon and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), the two iconic dishes of Korean–Chinese cuisine.

“Story of Overseas Chinese Food within Us” poster

Jajangmyeon, or jjajangmyeon? The question of Koreanization
Jjajang? Jjamppong? The birth of jjamjjamyeon

Playing pool? Time for jjajangmyeon. Moving day? Jjajangmyeon!
Strange equations related to jjajangmyeon, the ever-so-familiar food that needs no explanation

Since when did we eat jjajangmyeon? When was it made?
Jjajangmyeon is a Chinese food, right? However, I’ve heard people say they didn’t like the original zhajiangmian in China. What’s up with that? Etc.

So many stories come to our minds when we think of jjajangmyeon.

What is something that we cannot live without? Food, of course. The last few years are characterized by the incredible strength of the mukbang and cookbang programs, new words formed around food, the desire for presentation on Instagram, Naver Blog, and other social media, and above all, the growth of food as something far beyond a means of survival—a way of branding that expresses who I am.

The definition of food includes all things eaten and drunk by human beings. Their formation results from an interplay of complex factors, from climate and geography to politics, economy, society, and culture. The choice of food to be eaten, made, enjoyed, or not enjoyed is also one affected deeply by the values, emotions, and forms of living unique to all individuals. If that is the case, wouldn’t it be more enriching and valuable for us to listen to and understand the stories associated with food, the consumers, and the creators and engage the taste and enjoyment of food with a greater conception of culture in mind?

In that vein, a joint project between the three organizations of Gwangju University (supervisor), the ACC Foundation (participant), and the ACC (partner) was launched as a fun public lecture program. This program, launched as part of its Korea Creative Content Agency Content One Campus project, has “Story of Overseas Chinese Food Within Us - VR Immersive Content and Virtual Museum” as its theme. Moreover, this program seeks to facilitate a “reflection on our lack of knowledge beyond the jjajangmyeon and jjamppong on the Chinese diasporic community in Korea, who has been with us for the longest time.” Through this reflection, the program also hopes to create a meaningful start to the “understanding of the lives of the overseas Chinese folk, using the experience of the Korean-Chinese food culture as a starting point.”

Chef Park Chan-il, the first lecturer in the series

Audience members listen to Chef Park Chan-il’s lecture.

The first speaker to ascend to the podium was chef and columnist Park Chan-il, who delivered the lecture “Stories of Chinese Restaurants as Told by Jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) and Jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup)” on May 31.

The theme of Chef Park’s lecture was the lives of the Chinese diaspora in Korea and the tragic trajectory of their woes as migrants told through the two iconic dishes of jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup). That is, how the Chinese diaspora in Korea created the jjajangmyeon different from zhajiangmian, which originates from Shandong and Beijing, and what changes the dish underwent as it was adopted into the Korean society, along with the Chinese diaspora, through stories like “spring onions instead of onions, two strands in the etymology of black bean sauce, why the noodles became yellow over time, why the fried egg and the sliced cucumbers disappear, etc.” Chef Park also told an engaging story of the different forms of seafood noodle soup eaten in China, Japan (Nagasaki, Okinawa), and Korea and the trends of change in food culture exemplified by the popularity of the Korean-style spicy seafood noodle soup.

Chef Park Chan-il delivers his lecture with a presentation.

Through his story of the Chinese restaurants in Korea, Park Chan-il says, “I think we as Koreans learned how to accept the foreigners by eating Chinese food. The food culture helped break down the practices of exclusion toward other ethnicities. Many Koreans live as a diaspora worldwide, and I hope we will learn to engage with foreigners in Korea better from their example.” (…) “Remember that the Chinese diaspora has settled in Korea, raised their children in Korea, and are now becoming Koreans themselves. I hope we can take that as we seek to understand their identity and respect them with open hearts.”

Regardless of the flavor, food culture is the first point of contact for foreign cultures. After Chef Park’s lecture, I reflected on how difficult the lives of the Chinese diaspora in Korea must have been, as they brought the jjajangmyeon and jjamppong to Korea and established them as Korea’s favorites, and how our perception of the group was mired in prejudices. These stories of migration, settlement, and the lives of people today, learned through our mouths, showed us that food is not simply a means to continue our existence but rather a product of the practice of respect, of mutual understanding of culture through food.

Lucky draw events are being held after the lecture.

The lecture series Story of Overseas Chinese Food within Us will include six lectures, one every month, from Chef Park Chan-il’s lecture “Stories of Chinese Restaurants as told by Jjajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) and Jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup)” on May 31 until October this year. A representative of the ACC Foundation delivered the hope behind the lecture series: “We hope that this lecture series will help us know the new members and changes to the Chinese diasporic community in Gwangju and how their changes have affected our society in turn.” The following are the schedules and themes of the lectures for the future.

On Wednesday, June 29, the CEO of Global Tourism Seoul, Kang Tae-an, will deliver a lecture with the theme of “Between Dainties and Art: Cases of Key Asian Cities” as an overview of the Asian gourmet culture and the great diversity of ingredients used therein.

On Wednesday, July 27, professor Lee Jeong-hee of the Chinese Academy at Incheon University will tell the history of the Chinese diaspora in Korea through the Korean–Chinese Restaurant, the most popular dining space in Korean society today, with a lecture themed “A History of Korean–Chinese Restaurants and the Role of the Overseas Chinese.” On Sunday, August 28, cartoonist Roh Poong-eon will preside over a fun trip down memory lane with the lecture theme “Food with Memories: Tastes of the Early Years.”

The lecture on Wednesday, September 28, will see CEO Kim Jikio of the Technology Research Institute for Culture and Heritage lead the audience in investigating how cultural heritage gained new life through digital technology and how the value of cultural heritage can be continued indefinitely through technology in the lecture “How Stories of Cultural Heritages Live on in the Digital World.” In the last lecture in the series, scheduled on Wednesday, October 26, ACC Researcher of Art and Science Shim Hyoyoon will take the helm in the investigation of the refrigeration practice in the lecture titled “Mankind Refrigerated: From Research of Life and Culture to Exhibition and Publications.”

The lecture will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, free of charge. For inquiries, refer to the Asian Culture Center Foundation’s Culture Project Development Team at +82-62-601-4645–6 and the official web page of the ACC (https://www.acc.go.kr/).

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