The Hansik Globalization Campaign: A Malaysian Critique

This article critiques the South Korean government's strategies to globalize Korean cuisine (hansik) for its First World bias and for overlooking important dynamics that are operating locally. In particular the discourse as expressed on the Korean Food Foundation website demonstrates this desire to be accepted by the West and to be on par with Japan. Based on interviews with Korean restaurant owners in Malaysia and a survey of Malaysian diners, I argue for an emphasis on the role that Korean migrants play in inadvertently promoting hansik as part of the gastrodiplomatic negotiations in line with their processes of adaptation and settlement in Malaysia.