Dining Elegance and Authenticity: Archaeology of Royal Court Cuisine in Korea

10.6641/PICCFC.11.2009.01

MOON Okpyo

Chinese and Northeast Asian Cuisines: Local, National, and Global Foodways.

第11屆（2009 / 10 / 15）

2 - 1-2-18

英文

The age-old tradition of the Korean royal court culture was doomed to be lost with the ultimate fall of the Chosôn dynasty by the Japanese imperial power at the beginning of the 20th century. Much of the court life tradition faded away and disappeared with the aging and economic hardship subsequently suffered by the displaced royal family members and their former attendants after the establishment of Japanese colonial administration in 1910. It was only in the 1970s that the tradition of royal court cuisine began to receive official attention as part of the efforts to reconstruct and preserve the lost and disappearing national cultural heritage. In 1970, a former court lady named Han was designated by the state as the 38th Important Intangible Cultural Heritage as a specialist in the Royal Court Cuisine of the Chosôn Dynasty (Chosôn wangjo kungjung ûmsik, 朝鮮王朝宮中飲食). This paper will analyze the role of the state, market and individual agency in identifying, defining, branding and merchandizing the 'royal court cuisine' in contemporary Korean dietary culture.