Science and philosophy of Korea traditional foods (K-food)

Abstract

The foods, diets, lifestyles, and cultures that can be encountered throughout the world are different depending on the environment of each region and each ethnic group. Ethnic food has been developed according to the constraints of the given environment in terms of philosophical, agricultural, and geohistorical conditions. In other words, ethnic food is a product of efforts to cope with and overcome food safety, desirability, and the need for food storage for periods of famine. It would be a tradition and emergence created by accumulated wisdom that actively utilizes the given geographical and natural environment. Since the Ice Age, the development of all ethnic foods on the Earth has been unique in terms of their characteristics, due to the natural agro-ecological background of the region, through the movement and settlement of primitive mankind and wars of the Bronze Age. Therefore, it is impossible to understand the development of a particular ethnic food without understanding its historical background and geographical and agro-ecological characteristics. The same applies to Korean foods, which should be studied from this perspective. Nevertheless, until now, the history of food on the Korean Peninsula has been mainly studied by history scholars who can read Chinese characters rather than by natural scientists, resulting in errors and distortions in our understanding of the identity, history, and originality of Korean food. In this paper, we aim to correct these errors and distortions and to present scientifically validated research and the developmental background of Korean food in terms of its anthropological, historical, geographical, and cultural values, which is essential for K-food (Korean Traditional foods) to be known as a distinctly different world food rather than as a regional variant of Northeast Asian foods. Furthermore, we also aim to provide scientific truths by researching the health functionalities and cultural values of Korean food so that it can develop as a global food worldwide.