 As recently as 10 years ago if you asked the average American what they knew about Korean food They usually answer dog meat or that smelly kimchi stuff It seemed like Americans were trying in getting into every other Asian cuisine except Korean It became the unpopular nerd or as we say in Korean the wangta Even the US Army had a term called to be in deep kimchi So yes, Korean food was compared to shit So how did Korean food go from being deep shit to hot shit? Let's talk a bit a little bit a little bit about Korean food The ancient Chinese actually admired the people on the Korean Peninsula for being really good at making booze and Fermentation in fact there are over a hundred and sixty seven documented types of kimchi Koreans also eat more garlic per capita than anyone in the world and the peninsula itself is Very mountainous. It's very strategically located and the history is full of international conflicts and very corrupt aristocrats So Koreans have had to be really creative with making their food and even though it's considered One of the spicier cuisines chili peppers did not enter Korea until around the 16th century after a Japanese invasion brought some new world ingredients over and In fact the cabbage kimchi we all know of is only around a hundred and fifty years old So around the 20th century the beginning 20th century Japan colonized Korea after that was the Korean War and Much of the traditions were lost and only recently they're getting revived people like Park Rock Dam He's reviving the old traditional liquor making techniques. Also. We're reviving royal court cuisine and Buddhist temple cuisine and Korea went from one of the poorest nations in the world to one of the richest and the food changed it as well White rice was considered a sign of wealth Meat became more heavier in the doubt in the diet and this food got a little spicier And even the American presence had a little bit of an influence on the cuisine adding Cheese and other meats into it In fact one of the first east meets west fusion dishes of the 20th century is a dish called budae chi gay Which means army-based stew? It's basically kimchi with spam and hot dogs in a bowl surprisingly really good But even with this Americanization of Korean cuisines Americans still thought of Korean food as wankta so How did it in Koreans themselves didn't at the time have much regard for their own cuisine in fact Korean immigrants in America were more likely to open a sushi bar than a Korean restaurant and Korean restaurants themselves were considered very insular and only catering to other Koreans But there's a plus side to that because instead of Korean food having to Adapt to the American palette the American palette has had to adapt to Korean food Well, we got the spiciness covered in the past few decades I would say Americans have become chili files. We love hot food. I would credit food TV programs travel programs from Anthony Burdain and Andrew Zimmern. They made a lot of exotic foods a lot more familiar I would say the dog meat issue is becoming less of an issue But the only obstacle really has been the fermentation thing and Now I think people are starting to realize that fermentation is not rot. It's a very nice dark art of Bringing out the natural nutrients and foods and make creating complexity our favorite foods are fermented bread sourdough bread wine cheese So it's not much of a leap to appreciate the complexities of kimchi and Dainjang the soybean paste So as gosh, I forgot So Okay, come 2008 2009 we saw the fall of the American economy and the rise of Twitter So you had a bunch of people with smartphones and not much money So they were using Twitter to find cheap foods well in LA You have the Kogi taco truck and what they're doing They're using Twitter and they're serving people Korean food in taco form and Americans found that they liked kimchi They became addicted to it and this food truck started Booming around the US on the east coast you have David Chang and Momo Fuku serving his Korean inspired cuisine And he started this casual fine dining movement So suddenly you have Korean food attached to two major food movements at the same time It was not long after that Danji a restaurant in New York became the first Korean restaurant in the world to get a Michelin star so now I think we're We're on the verge of it becoming a really big trend In Southeast Asia Japan, it's already getting popular It's even showing hints of being popular in India and Europe and the US is starting to be incorporated in backyard barbecues Chefs are starting to use it. It's starting to influence other cuisines like southern cuisine chefs are making collard green kimchi and kimchi and grits and Actually One sign of success is that Applebee's chain restaurants are putting Korean food making Korean tacos And a great twist that I really like to see is now sushi bars are being converted into Korean restaurants So I'd say after being wanked up for very long Korean food is finally getting the respect it deserves. Thank you